How to make SMART goals smarter.
The second of a two-part series on effective goal setting.
If you recall, the first part of this SubStack’s deep dive into goal setting invited you to consider and reconsider again and again your reason for wanting to accomplish your goal or, more specifically, a New Year resolution. The plan was to uncover the fuel that you would be utilizing to see your goal through.
Some of you let me know the “Ya, but why” question was difficult. Spoiler—it’s supposed to be. True enough, staying in the realm of our surface reasons is “easier”—safe was the word one of you used. But staying safe limits the fuel source available to us. Surface or egoic fuel, although easier to identify, is less sustainable because it often represents an extrinsic goal.
With the “Ya, but why” question, you’re forced to shine a light on the darker parts of our psyche that we often find uncomfortable to explore. All the more reason to search for deeper and more authentic reasons, prickly or not, when wanting to achieve an important and meaningful outcome. Landing on the reason that evokes emotion is the sign that you’re delving into a fuel source that will prove more powerful and sustainable because it’s an intrinsic response.
George T. Doran invented the SMART system of goal setting in 1981. If you’re unfamiliar with this acronym, it stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable (or Attainable), Relevant, and Time-bound. By considering each word and its corresponding area of focus, George invites us to consider that every part of this protocol makes sense—it’s a rational process.
However, many of our clients have expressed that although they can apply this system to their workplace and/or lifestyle goals, they often appear to run out of steam once they embark on them. We believe the reason is that rational thoughts alone don’t motivate us. As we like to say, knowing what we’re supposed to do is not enough.
Case in point: we all know we shouldn’t speed when driving. We all know we shouldn’t eat excessive amounts of sugary sweets or highly processed fats. We all know we should get at least eight hours of sleep a night. There are so many things in our days that we rationally understand and appreciate that we could and should do. However, well, we don’t.
Why? Motivation. We’re not compelled enough to take action on the things we understand we should. If we were, we’d be much healthier, happier, productive … you name it. So then, how do we turn on motivation? Good question. We think the answer is with emotions—because emotions drive our behaviour. The SMART system lives above our shoulders—rationale thoughts waiting for the right fuel to ignite action. And those emotions live in our souls or below our shoulders.
We invite our clients to consider the MECCA system. Yes, it’s an acronym that stands for Motivational, Engagable (assuming that’s even a word), Controllable, Celebrate, and Accountable. If you’re familiar with Mecca, you’ll know that it symbolizes unity for billions of Muslims worldwide. It’s central to their faith—it’s foundational.
Our appropriation of the term is to imply the same essence—it’s foundational to effective goal setting. Why? Because it invites emotions—ones that drive action and accomplish goals. Let me explain…
Motivational: the more you engage in the actions of what accomplishes your goal, the more you want to. Goals that involve mastery—the pursuit of getting better—align perfectly with this. Also, service-oriented goals work well, too. When our goals involve a component that serves others while serving us, that drives motivation big time!
Engageable: is about asking someone else or a group of people for help or support. When was the last time you asked someone for help, and they said no? I thought so. Because we’re all hard-wired from birth to help—so, ask someone. It’ll turn up your accountability if you have to report the Measurable piece to someone else. It also invites synergy—the combined efforts of a group of people all moving in one direction—accomplishing a goal. That’s a powerful force!
Controllable: every aspect of the goal’s actions must be 100% controlled by you. You can not have to rely on anyone or anything else in order to accomplish your goal. It’s one of the reasons why, as a rowing coach, we never chose winning as the goal—we didn’t have 100% control of that outcome. We couldn’t control how good our competitors were. We couldn’t control the weather or broken equipment—too many things could go south during a race. So, instead, our goal was always to find our best race on the day—that we could control!
Celebrate: if you’re familiar with Adam Grant’s book Atomic Habits, you’ll appreciate the importance of celebrating our little victories along the way in permanently changing our habits. And it doesn’t mean having to book a community hall every time you have a small win! No, it can be as simple as quietly acknowledging, “Hey you, did you just notice that? We’re getting better—nicely done!” That act sends a small shot of reaffirming hormones that help cement your new actions into becoming new habits—so important! And take it from a guy who was taught not to celebrate—ultimately, it’s self-defeating.
And yes, I appreciate that Celebrate should come last, but we put it here because when we came up with the acronym, we figured Mecca had a better ring to it than Mecac!
Accountable: our last one, and it holds hands with Measurable because it invites you to regularly check in on your progress—with your accountability buddy from Engageable. Why? True enough, because it keeps you on track—holds you to your commitment. But, more importantly, it’s the emotions that it evokes. If you’re making progress and the accountability part of the goal is revealing that you are, that results in positive emotions that leave you wanting to come back for more. The more you do it, the more you want to—your goal actually becomes motivating on its own!
When you get to this place, you’ve found Mecca, and you’re rockin’!
Okay, so once you’ve chosen a goal and determined a really powerful why, running your goal through the SMART and MECCA checklist will significantly enhance the likelihood of your goal coming to fruition. In fact, many of the schools we’ve worked with have employed this system with very positive results across their entire student body. I mean, hey, if this can work for teenagers, then surely, as adults, we can put this to good use!
Now, it’s time for you to get after it—giddy up! Determine your goal, get clear on your why, and run it through the checklists. Finally, let me know how it goes. And, of course, I’m happy to be your accountability buddy—just reach out.
Have fun with this—hope it helps!
