It turns out the SMART goals framework doesn’t encompass all the ways that goal-setting can help us. If you ask me, you actually shouldn’t turn every goal into a SMART goal. Here's why.
In this article, Doran argued that goals are often nebulous, and that a goal that is specific and clearly stated will be more effective. The SMART acronym was intended to provide structure to goal-setting, so that managers could deliver their orders to workers with clear targets and measurements in place.
But the SMART framework doesn't make a lot of sense for individuals setting goals for themselves. In fact, the letter A originally stood for "assignable," in the sense that you could assign the goal to a specific worker or team, which obviously isn't going to work when the task at hand is getting your butt off the couch to run more. Fitness and self-improvement gurus have simply rewritten the acronym and changed its focus.
What does SMART stand for?
Specific
Assignable (to an employee or group)
Time-related (having a timeline)
But the self-improvement industry took the basic structure and ran with it, judging goals by how well they align with a new set of SMART criteria. You'll see different definitions, but they tend to go something like this:
Measurable
Relevant (to your interests—this is a new addition, since Realistic got renamed and they needed another R)
That's one metric removed (assignable), one added (relevant), and one subtly changed (time-bound rather than time-related).
SMART goals are often thought of as an improvement on vague statements like “I want to get in shape,” but I would call them more of a bait-and-switch. By the time you’re done defining your goal, you end up with a pass-fail test with a deadline and a metric. Is this really what’s going to motivate you?
When you make a goal Attainable or Realistic, you’re not allowing yourself to dream big. If you’re aiming to improve, wouldn’t you want to try something that’s a challenge specifically because you might fail? How much do you think you’ll ever succeed if you only stick to “goals” that you are 100% sure you can attain?
Consider SMART goals to be benchmarks or minimums
When you ditch SMART goals, you may be a bit lost at first—admittedly they do provide a good structure for clearly stating something you want to work toward. This thing isn’t your overall goal, but perhaps it can be helpful as part of the process.
Think bigger when you set your real goals
What kind of goal would you set if it didn’t have to be realistic or rigorously specified? As I’ve written before, I think it makes the most sense to think of fitness goals (or any goals, really) in terms of a question. Deliberately remove one or more of those SMART parameters and push yourself to see what you can achieve when it’s no longer a pass/fail test.
Take away the deadline and ask: How soon can I get to a [goal weight] deadlift? Or take away the specificity requirement and ask: How fast can I run by the time this race comes up? Or take away the measurement aspect, and see what happens if you just do stuff. Have fun. Push yourself. What will happen? How will your life change? You don’t need numbers you can track on a spreadsheet to try things and see how they turn out.
Hence then, the article about smart goals are overrated was published today ( ) and is available on Live Hacker ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( SMART Goals Are Overrated )
Also on site :