Your SMART Goals Template For Success (Detailed)

I am going to explain here how I set SMART goals and achieve them. You will have access to a free SMART goals template that I have created. Use my SMART goals worksheet which you can download here to set your goals using the SMART goal setting process.

SMART Goals Definition

Before we get into the detail of setting goals and using the SMART goal setting process, the first thing I want to do is provide you with a SMART goals definition if you are not familiar with this process.

The SMART goal setting process is a great way to set goals that I use all of the time. I use the SMART system as a criterion through which I judge my goals before embarking on them. What does the SMART acronym stand for? This will help you below:

•           Specific (significant, simple, sensible)

•           Measurable (motivating, meaningful)

•           Achievable (attainable, agreed)

•           Relevant (realistic, results-based, realistic and resourced)

•           Time bound (time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-based, time-sensitive)

I highly recommend that you use the SMART process too. It will definitely help you to make the distinction between goals that are too easy for you to achieve and those that are too difficult or nigh on impossible.

Get your SMART Goals Template here

The setting of goals is important but not that difficult to be honest. Just setting goals will not get you anywhere. You need to take consistent action to achieve them and that is the hard part. Below I will explain the goal setting exercises and goal setting activities that I use.

What is the point of setting goals? Well, we all want a better life and desire certain things that will make our lives better. To set inspiring goals you need to identify what you want and why you want these things. All of your goals need to motivate you to take the action required even when you are not in the mood to do this.

In order to set the most inspiring goals that you can I recommend that you go through the goal setting exercises below. It all starts by identifying what you really want. Most people do not know what they really want because they have not taken the time and made the effort to think this through. This is not difficult to do if you follow my advice.

All of your goals need to be challenging. You do not want to set goals that are very easy for you to achieve. All of your goals need to force you out of your current comfort zone. When you do this, you will learn a lot more and grow as a person.

This is the first step to setting inspirational goals. If you need help with this then set aside some quiet time where you will not be interrupted and then ask yourself the question “what do I need or want to show up in my life?”

Focus on this question and write down what comes into your head. Don’t worry about how you will achieve goals at this point. Just get everything down on paper. If you are struggling to come up with ideas then ask yourself the question again. Alternative, you can ask yourself a different question such as “what do I really want in my life?” or similar.

• Business goals
• Financial goals
• Health goals
• Relationship goals

Once you have all of your ideas down on paper you will need to go through them all. A big mistake that I made in the early days was trying to achieve too many goals at once. While it is natural to be enthusiastic about achieving a number of goals at once, it is very difficult to achieve this with all of the other things that you have going on in your life.

Having the right reason for a goal is critical for inspiration. Go through all of the goal ideas that you generated, and for each one ask yourself “how will I feel when I have achieved this goal?” When you do this, it will conjure up emotions within you.

Some emotions will be stronger for some goals than others. This will make everything a lot clearer for you. Choose the goals that in your gut feel right. These will invoke the strongest emotions within you and will be the things that you really want. Once you know what your inspirational goals are be sure to write them down.

Some people will say at this point “why not record your goals on your computer?” Well, you can if you want to but there is something very powerful about writing your goals down using a traditional pen and paper. Writing your goals down will open up your emotions and provide a strong connection.

It is this emotional connection that will mean the difference between achieving your goals and not. This emotional connection will drive you to take the actions that you need to achieve a goal. Achieving goals is not an easy thing to do so you need all of the inspiration and motivation that you can get.

It is pointless to set goals that you know you can achieve easily. These are just tasks or a series of tasks that you can include in your daily and weekly plans. Something easy to achieve will not inspire you to go the extra mile.

The other side of the coin is to set goals that are too ambitious or almost impossible to achieve. If you set too ambitious goals and fall short then this will de-motivate you. You have to find the right balance between too easy and too difficult.

You need to be able to measure any goals that you set. If you can’t do this then you can never truly say that you have achieved a goal. Creating and holding on to a desired end result helps you to stay on track and will confirm when you have achieved a goal.

Are there some goals that you cannot measure easily? Yes, there are and, in this situation, you need to keep what the goal means to you in your mind. You will know when you have achieved this kind of goal because your feelings will change, or you will have the ability to do something that you couldn’t before.

In all other cases you need a desired end result. When you fit all of these pieces together you end up with a set of goals that will drive you to get out of bed in the morning and take action. This is an unstoppable force and you will have a much greater chance of achieving your goals.

Goal Setting Activities For Inspired Goals

After years of setting goals and experimenting with the process I have come up with a number of goal setting activities which include practical steps that I use when I am setting goals. I urge you to follow these steps as they have proven to work for me time and time again.

Step One – List your Desires

Create a list of everything that you want to achieve, have, or desire from all aspects of your life. Make a list of at least 50 – 100 things, so for example, you might want to get married, lose some weight, buy a new property, own a Ferrari etc. Write down everything you can think of from your personal life, business life, family life, what you want to learn, who you want to help etc.

Step Two – Conduct a Realistic Time Assessment

Next to each item, write down if you can realistically achieve them within 1 year, 5 years or 10 years.

Step Three – Choose The Most Inspiring Items

Choose five to seven items that really inspire you, which you can realistically achieve in the next year. Choose from different categories, so don’t just have all monetary or business goals, it is best to have a mix.

Step Four – Write Your Goals Down

Complete my SMART Goals Worksheet, which you can download here, so that have it clear in your mind and to make sure you write everything down.

Turning Your Goals Into Reality

Once you have created your inspiring goals you will feel really motivated by them and want to get started straight away. This is great but how do you keep this momentum going? Unfortunately, a lot of people start out inspired by the goals they have set for a few days and after that their motivation diminishes.

I had this problem too. It was so busy for me in my business that my goals took a back seat and, in the end, just fizzled out and died. I didn’t want that to happen any more so I tried different techniques to keep myself motivated and created a process that really worked well. Here is the process that I use and you can too:

Step One – Set Appointments To Review Progress

Set weekly appointments in your diary to review your progress. At the meeting (this can be a meeting with yourself or someone that you know will help you) you will think about what you have achieved towards that goal, write it down and find a next step.

Use the Smart Goals Template, write down the date, and what you have achieved that week. Also, create a “Next Steps Area”, where you must write down at least one thing that must be achieved/done to get you closer to your end goal.  Also, cross off any “Next Steps” that were achieved last week.

Step Two – Add The Next Steps To Your To Do list Or Action system

Add your next step onto your to do list or project management program and make sure to allocate some time that week to working on what you want to achieve.

Step Three – Clearly Mark Completed Goals And Celebrate

When you achieve a goal, mark through the whole sheet using a highlighter pen, COMPLETED and file it away in a specific folder. Celebrate the success, by treating yourself to something. This process is very important as it gives you a massive dopamine hit, and will make you feel fantastic.

Step Four – Move On To The Next Goal

Now choose another one year goal, and start working towards that, with the same method.

SMART Goals Examples

I am going to provide you with some examples of SMART goals to help you create your own. Before we get into the examples, I want to discuss the importance of SMART goal setting. You may have asked yourself the question “why should I use SMART goals?” The most important reason for doing this is to provide you with total clarity.

You do not want any of your goals to be confusing or ambiguous. By using the SMART goals process you will create goals where there is no uncertainty about what you need to do and by when. If you just write anything down as a goal, then it is likely to be just a “hope” such as the resolutions that people make at New Year.

Another question that you may ask yourself is “should I use a SMART goals template?” My answer to this is a resounding “yes”. I have a free SMART goals template for you which you can download here. This is what I use to set all of my SMART goals.

Now let’s get on to the SMART goal examples. In this first example, I am going to assume that you want to write a book about your niche. This is always a good idea as it will demonstrate your expertise and establish you as an authority in your niche. I have chosen real estate investing as the example niche here:

• Specific – I am going to write a 50,000 word book about real estate investing.
• Measurable – I will write 10,000 words for my book every month.
• Achievable – Every week I will write 2,500 words
• Relevant – This book will boost my credibility in the real estate investment niche.
• Time – I will complete the writing of my book by 31 December 2021.

You can see from this SMART goal example that everything is very clear. I have spelled out exactly what I am going to do, how I am going to achieve it and when I will achieve the goal. Under the “relevant” section I have add the real reason why I am going to write the book. This will inspire me to get it done in the time frame.

Here is the second of the SMART goal examples that will help you. In this example, I have chosen something that many business owners can relate to. We all want to make more sales in our business so the next example is a goal to achieve this:

• Specific – I am going to learn how to get the best results from Google Ads and invest 25% of my profits into this channel for marketing.
• Measurable – I will increase my sales by 50% in the next three months.
• Achievable – I can achieve this growth in my business as it is ready to handle the increase in sales
• Relevant – I want to make a minimum of $100,000 per year from my business
• Time – I will find the best Google Ads training course by tomorrow and will have my first campaign active in 7 days. I will learn how to scale up the campaigns so that I can achieve my 50% increase in sales by 31^st October 2024

Again, I have made this goal completely clear. I am going to increase my sales by 50% in 3 months through the use of Google Ads. There is a commitment to learn the best methods to use with Google Ads and have my first campaign up and running in 7 days.

How do you Write SMART Goals?

The whole purpose of using a SMART Goals template is to ensure that you can write goals that have total clarity. In the “Specific” section, you need to be very clear about what you wan to achieve. Take a look at the SMART goal examples I provided above for inspiration with this.

Measuring your progress towards your goal is essential. If you cannot do this then you will never know if you have achieved your goal or not. For a financial or business goal it is likely that you can easily measure them. In the “Measurable” section, be specific about what you will achieve by when.

In the “Achievable” section, you need to write a statement here that proves your goal is achievable. For the “Relevant” section, I like to define how achieving this goal will fit in with all of my other plans and goals. You must add a specific date in the “Time” section as this will push you to identify and complete your tasks to achieve your goal as fast as possible.

Smart Goals Template Download

These days I achieve most of the goals that I set myself using the SMART goal setting process that I have outlined above. This is incredibly motivating and I am always eager to set new and more challenging goals for myself. I love to move the boundaries of my comfort zone as often as possible. I feel like I am truly growing when I do this.

So now you have everything that you need to set inspiring goals and to follow through and achieve them. It is useless to set goals and then store them away never to look at them again. Follow the steps in this post and set inspiring goals that will challenge you and you will get enormous satisfaction from achieving them.

Download my SMART Goals Template to help you write your next goals.