Why "Silly goals" Exceed SMART Goals Every Time
I think it’s time we had a long and frank conversation about so-called SMART goals.
I stay on productivity forums and self-improvement communities, so I must have heard hundreds of people talk about how great they are.
How they revolutionize goal setting.
And as if you use any other system, you chain yourself to a log caught in rapids and head for a waterfall.
In case you (somehow) haven’t come across this yet, SMART is an acronym that describes what each worthy goal is supposed to have. As I say, I’ve heard hundreds of people say this … and maybe three point out some of the obvious and glaring limitations.
You will never see them the same way again.
You’re welcome.
Consider a conversation between a SMART loving coach and a client who has never heard of them before …
~
Coach: I recommend setting SMART goals. The S, you see, stands for “specific.”
Customer: Okay, that makes sense. Better that than a vague goal. So something like “I want to increase my salary to seven figures before the end of the year.”
Coach: Exactly! Now the M stands for “measurable” which is self explanatory. The A is
Customer: Wait … measurable?
Coach: Yes! If it is not measurable, how do you know when you are progressing?
Client: Sure … but we already have specifics. Isn’t that redundant?
Coach: No, you see, specifics is about being clear about your goals. Measuring is about being about to quantify success.
Client: Right … but they are the same. Can something be measurable and not specific?
Coach: Well … I … huh. Um … let’s get back to that. The A stands for “achievable”, or some people say “achievable”.
Client: Very good. That makes sense … and it doesn’t mean the same as the others, haha.
Coach: Yes … and the R stands for “realistic”.
Customer: … oh, this is a joke! Oh well, you really had me going.
Coach: What? No, it’s not a … what?
Customer: “Achievable” and “realistic” are synonymous. They mean exactly the same thing. We’re up to the fourth letter and you’ve only said two things. What does T mean? Fully feasible? Narrowly defined? This SMART lens is hilarious.
Coach: He’s ‘limited in time’ … whatever, we’re done here.
~
Final scene …
Now some people say the R is ‘relevant’ which is helpful to add. Even if I gave you that one, most definitions I see say, in pure adoration of thesauri, ‘realistic’, it doesn’t eliminate redundancy.
If the list of five things has an identical pair, let alone two, you may want to reconsider your acronym.
But even if I did forgive him …
“I’m going to do heroin at noon” is a perfectly valid SMART goal and a perfectly terrible idea. It’s specific, measurable, achievable / realistic (I guess? I have no idea how easy it is to get heroin. It shouldn’t be difficult …) and has a time limit.
“I’m going to increase my vegetable intake by one serving a month, starting today” is also completely SMART, but so disappointing that it’s not worth your time to formulate.
You can set SMART goals that are worth your time … but don’t align with your life ambition. For example, you can use this frame to stab people in the back in your quest to make the world a better place. Or maybe you want to improve your health, so you exercise SMART five times a day until something breaks.
You can even set a SMART goal for something you’ve already done, just to fake a sense of progress.
And it gets worse. Nowhere in this cheesy little acronym is there a measure of your emotional reaction or instinct. If you write this goal down and every fiber of your being screams “no, don’t do it!” … too bad, slugger, because there is nowhere to capture that.
Oh, and you can set a goal of being a millionaire in one year … and do nothing about it for 11 months, then fight in a panic for the last one. SMART goals have zero built-in responsibility, plan, or commitment.
SMART goals are utterly inadequate, redundant, and unhelpful.
Yet somehow everyone brags about them.
That’s why I prefer stupid goals. True to form, DUMBDUMB is an acronym. False to form, it is thorough and not redundant.
D is for feasible. Is it realistic / achievable / achievable?
U is helpful. Is it relevant? Does this goal really advance your vision?
M is measurable. It is an important variable, even if I only include it once.
B is for Beliefs and Values. Does pursuing this goal conflict with the life you want to live? Is this the kind of goal you’ll be proud to have accomplished, thinking of it on your deathbed?
D is for desire. Does the goal make you feel passionate and excited?
U is to undertake. How much time and effort will it take to achieve this goal? If you take two hours a day, then you’d better schedule two hours a day right now.
M is for Mighty. Are you playing it safe, or is your goal demanding, challenging, and growing?
YB is for time-bound, because one good thing about SMART goals is that they have a deadline.
There you go. A complete, useful and non-redundant system for creating goals. Use it and enjoy.