Achieve Your Goals With This Simple Formula
This is “operation motivation” week at the Burn The Fat Blog and www.BurnTheFat.com. One of the most tried and true methods for getting focused, staying motivated and achieving your goals is the S.M.A.R.T. formula. If you searched the net for “SMART goals,” you would probably find a dozen different variations on the SMART goal acronym. Here’s my version of SMART goals, along with a little extra to make them even SMART-ER.
The S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals Formula!
1. Specific. Set goals with clarity. Your mind does not respond well to vague generalities. If you say your goal is to lose weight and then you lose one pound, then you’ve reached your goal. Is that what you really wanted? Get clear. Be precise. Be specific.
2. Measurable. Set goals that can be quantified in measurable units such as pounds, kilos, body fat percentage, lean body mass, inches and clothing sizes. Performance goals can include strength (lbs or kilos lifted) and repetitions completed. Don’t forget to include health goals as well, such as blood pressure and blood lipids.
3. Accountable. Set goals you can be held accountable to. First be accountable to yourself by using a scale, body fat caliper, tape measure, weekly progress chart, a daily nutrition diary and a training journal. Then double your motivation with external accountability and submit your results and journals to someone else who will hold you to your commitments
4. Realistic. Set goals that are attainable and maintainable. If you lose two pounds of fat per week, you are doing awesome. 30 pounds in 30 days sounds great in the advertisements, but it is not typical (not even likely), and rapid weight loss usually consists of muscle and water, not fat, and is nearly impossible to keep off.
5. Time Bound. Set goals with deadlines. Time limits are highly motivating. With no time limit, there is no urgency for completion. Set goals for daily workouts and nutrition, weekly weight and body composition and 12 week changes in weight, body fat or measurements. Set long term goals as well for one year, five years and even beyond. For all time periods, be certain that your deadline is realistic.
Now we add some motivational ooompf by making your goals even SMART-ER!
6. Emotional. Goals give you a direction, but strong emotions are part of the propulsion system that drives you in that direction. Build up a burning desire by focusing on the emotional reasons why you want to achieve your goal. Connect your goals to your values. What’s most important to you about reaching your goal? If you reach 9% body fat, or whatever is your target, what will that do for you? What will your life look like then? How will it make you FEEL?
7. Reviewed often (repetition!). Resolutions fail because they are casually set once at the beginning of the year and easily forgotten. Stay laser-focused by writing and reading your goals every day. Repetition is one of the keys to re-programming your mental computer for success. Use the goal card technique. Write your single most important body or fitness goal on a small card, then carry it with you every where you go, reading it several times a day.
S.M.A.R.T. GOALS is a simple, memorable formula for goal setting and goal getting. It may not be new, but then again, there are no new fundamentals. Methods and tactics may change, but scientific principles of success never change. And don’t forget to make your goals even smarter by adding the Emotion and Repetition. A goal that’s not strongly desired and kept in front of you every day will be forgotten. Stay focused, eat right, train hard and expect success!
“A goal that is casually set and lightly taken will be freely abandoned at the first obstacle.” - Zig Ziglar, Motivational Speaker
Get Tom’s NEW E-book on setting and achieving goals FREE!
If you’d like to learn more about how to set and achieve all your fitness and weight loss goals - and then even transfer your goal achieving skills to other areas of your life (like earning more money!), then be sure to get your FREE copy of “The Science of Goal Achievement: 10 Secrets of Subconscious Mind Power and 7 Secrets of Scientific Goal Setting.” This is the first book ever written how the goal achievement process works from a scientific basis. You’ll learn the 10 secrets for tapping into the power of your subconscious mind and a 7 step fool-proof formula for reaching every goal you set.
Not only that, during our special OPERATION MOTIVATION bloginar this week, you can also get SIX MORE FREE BONUSES with the purchase of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle.
To get all the details, visit the Burn The Fat website at: www.BurnTheFat.com
(HURRY - this offer ends on Friday, July 17th at midnight PST. After that, the only way you can get this new ebook is to purchase it separately at the full price or become a member of the www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com16 July, 2009 posted in Mind & Motivation
Comments
One of the clearest explanations I've found for S.M.A.R.T. goals. And I love the bonus - making them S.M.A.R.T.E.R. I'm going to use this with my staff as we set the year's performance goals at work this month as well as for myself in my personal life. Thanks
Posted by: Ann | July 16, 2009 12:08 PM
hi Tom I received emails about your promotion on Operation Motivation and was looking to purchase your ebooks. I understand it is very much like a 'motivation manual' and I was wondering if you also included in the ebook all your sources and the scientific studies you found in your research. I am a neuroscience student , and am interested in reading about motivation's basis in neuroscience; however I understand that not every person necessaily find this information useful but hope you can indulge me. Thank you for extending this offer; I look forward to reading BFFM and hearing from you,
Posted by: vy | July 17, 2009 12:04 AM
Vy thanks for your post
you can see many of the references related to visualization
and mental rehearsal research in this post:
visualization: mental training secret of champion athletes and fitness achievers"
if you start looking up a few of those studies on pub med
then you can dig further if you like, by checking the references in the back of each of those individual studies and sort results on pub med by date to look for most recent if you want to see whats newest.
it would take me a while to piece together all the individual
studies on all the information in my motivation reports and
my new goal achievement book but I can point you to a
few of the prime researchers:
look up john bargh in your schools library, regarding his work on the unconscious mind; he has written several academic texbooks as well as individual research papers. also tanya chartrand for her work on the unconscious mind and goal achievement studies.
there is much to be learned from the sports psychologists as
well; while not strictly neuroscience, this group of researchers
is definitely on the academic side. Look up charles garfield of
peak performance fame, mihaly csikzenmihaly (flow), Jim Lohr,
Dr. Judd Biasiatto, steven ungerlieider, Phd (USOC commitee
sports psychologyregistry), Terry Orlik PhD, RobertNideffer, PhD,
and Lee Pulos, PhD.
in neuroscience, Dr. richard restak is a great resource - hes a clinical professor of neurology at GW university in wash DC and hes written about a dozen books on the brain. A good starter is
"The New Brain" because its a lay person book which connects
traditional "self help" wisdom to what we know about neuroscience today. I really enjoy restaks work.
if youre willing to move to the fringes of psychology look up NLP, but you probably wont hear much support for NLP from your academic peers- however, Id keep an open mind if I were you... not so open that your brain falls out... but open! there are some really great mind and motivation tools in NLP :-)
Cheers!
Posted by: tom venuto | July 17, 2009 12:29 AM
Tom,
You know, not only are your articles great, but your impromptu responses are superb such as the on earlier at "July 17, 2009 12:29 AM." I have seen you respond with a depth like this on several occasions and in this case you did so inside of 25 minutes! Keep up the good work and thanks for putting these golden snippets on the public web in your blog! Brian
Posted by: Brian Hildebrand | July 17, 2009 5:13 PM
hey brian, thanks for your post. By the way I clicked through to your blog and saw your latest missionphotos - you have been shredding hard! Congrats! I see six pack abs! Also, most impressive is that 200 day pic. Wow! You look like a different person. Keep up the great work!
Posted by: tom venuto | July 18, 2009 10:10 AM
Tom,
I just wanted to take the time to thank you for these awesome bonuses. You truly are a man of integrity, by keeping those who have already bought BFFM up to date with your free updates. Most authors would just tell old customers "if you want the new info buy the new book/program". Even though at this time due to financial constraints I'm not able to be part of the innercircle, I will be a customer for life, even after I have surpassed my initial 12 week goal, & set others.
Again thanks!
Posted by: james green | July 20, 2009 4:35 PM