Whether your goals are personal or professional, make sure you write them down--and make sure you write them down in a way that's SMART. I'm not just talking about intelligence here: by ensuring that your goal meets the criteria of a SMART goal, you'll maximize your ability to achieve it.
But what is a SMART goal?
SMART is an acronym that, depending on who you ask, stands for all sorts of different things--all of them focused on making your goal more achievable. Here with the Goal Setting Queen, we use SMART to mean the following:
S is for Specific - A vague goal, like "I want to be a better student" or "I want to improve my business' online presence" doesn't do a very good job of motivating anybody. What's your definition of better or improved, and how are you going to know when you've reached it? Make sure that your goals are specific so that you know what you have to do, and how you're going to do it.
M is for Measurable - If you can't measure your progress on the road to achieving your goal, how are you going to keep yourself from getting discouraged? Ensure that your goals are measurable, so that you can see what you've done and what you still need to do.
A is for Achievable - The point of setting goals is, of course, to achieve them. Goals should be challenging, but certainly not impossible!
R is for Written - This one is a bit of a cheat, but it's important. You really do have to write down your goals, and make sure they're written down in a place where you'll see them often. The act of writing a goal makes it more concrete in your mind, and reading it all the time will remind you to work towards it!
T is for Time-Based - Be sure to set a deadline for your goal. Saying that you'll accomplish your goal "someday" is vague, and as you know, we don't like vagueness and neither should you. If you don't have a deadline, what reason do you have to work on making any progress? Procrastination is the death of many a good goal.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The House on the Beach
In 1976, after living in basement apartments for many years, my husband and I decided that we would buy a house. I was a first year teacher, and he was chasing his dream to be state chess champion, but with the help of my grandmother we were able to afford one--a beautiful house with a large yard, only 26,000 dollars! We felt like we'd moved into the palatial estates.
The next year, a friend approached me and asked, "Do you know how much your house is worth now?"
"No, I don't," I said. "But I love living in it."
She showed me that housing prices had risen drastically, and the house was now worth 50,000 dollars or more! What a delightful revelation! What she said next, though, didn't make a lot of sense to me. "Wow, it's worth so much money, you should sell it and buy something bigger!"
"Oh, no," I replied. "I love my house. I'm staying in this house for the rest of my life." And then, in a tone that made it clear that I thought of it as a pipe dream: "Unless, of course, I had a chance to live on the beach or something."
Over the course of that year, and the year that followed, the house continued to rise in price--up to around 75,000 dollars. None of my friends had bought any property, and were finding it less and less possible as prices went up. They all told me the same thing: that I should sell my house, and buy something bigger. And my response was always the same: I loved my house, and I was going to live in it forever. ...Unless I could live on the beach.
I stayed in my house for 26 years. I had my children in that house, raised them in that house, made so many loving, wonderful memories in that house. But then my children grew up and moved away, and the house was more house than I needed. My old friends, who still couldn't afford to buy any property, noticed that as well--and they were in need of somewhere to live. So I spent a number of years dealing with, essentially, dependent roommates. They were nice people who paid the rent on time, but the long-distance phone bills and excessive usage of electricity was less nice. Eventually, it got so difficult that I decided it was time to have a house that was big enough for just me.
So I started keeping an eye out--not really looking yet, just keeping an eye out--and I realized that it would be good to write down the things I wanted in a house. I'd been told that when you wrote things down, you got them, so I made a list: I wanted a house with a yard half the size of my current one. I wanted to be in every room of the house every single day. I wanted a laundry room. I wanted two bedrooms, one of which I would use as an office. I wanted a nicely-sized kitchen, not too small, not too big. And of course, I wanted it to be in pleasant condition.
As I was writing this list, I kept having thoughts of the sweet little house owned by the principal of the school I taught at. He would be retiring at the end of the year, and moving out of town. I looked over the list and realized that it was all the things I wanted--and it was about a mile from the beach.
I asked whether he was planning to sell his house, and indeed he was--and he was delighted to hear that I was interested in buying it. I was sure that my house would sell for more than he was asking, and we made an arrangement for me to come and take a look. I'd been there before, but now I had all my qualifications in mind: a small yard, two bedrooms, a little kitchen. It was, in fact, everything I had wanted, and as I thought, he asked if I would like to look at the neighborhood.
"Sure!" I told him, expecting that we'd get in his car and take a drive around. Instead, we took a walk--to the beach! I had thought it was a mile away, but it was only a block.
As a child, I had spent a few weeks out of every summer visiting a beach cabin owned by friends of my parents. It was the height of my summer, and here, in this house, I had the chance to live in the height of my summer year-round. I bought the house and lived there for four years, treasuring every second. I am so blessed to be here, I thought to myself.
One morning, I was walking along the beach, and all those conversations with my old friends went through my head. "Unless, of course, I had a chance to live on the beach or something." I hadn't ever taken it seriously, but I'd said it so many times that I had created this situation through my speaking. It had taken 27 years to get to it, but I hadn't said it with any power--I'd said it as if it was something impossible.
But I'd said it.
Imagine if I had said it with power--established it as a goal and written it down. I might have been there twenty years earlier.
The next year, a friend approached me and asked, "Do you know how much your house is worth now?"
"No, I don't," I said. "But I love living in it."
She showed me that housing prices had risen drastically, and the house was now worth 50,000 dollars or more! What a delightful revelation! What she said next, though, didn't make a lot of sense to me. "Wow, it's worth so much money, you should sell it and buy something bigger!"
"Oh, no," I replied. "I love my house. I'm staying in this house for the rest of my life." And then, in a tone that made it clear that I thought of it as a pipe dream: "Unless, of course, I had a chance to live on the beach or something."
Over the course of that year, and the year that followed, the house continued to rise in price--up to around 75,000 dollars. None of my friends had bought any property, and were finding it less and less possible as prices went up. They all told me the same thing: that I should sell my house, and buy something bigger. And my response was always the same: I loved my house, and I was going to live in it forever. ...Unless I could live on the beach.
I stayed in my house for 26 years. I had my children in that house, raised them in that house, made so many loving, wonderful memories in that house. But then my children grew up and moved away, and the house was more house than I needed. My old friends, who still couldn't afford to buy any property, noticed that as well--and they were in need of somewhere to live. So I spent a number of years dealing with, essentially, dependent roommates. They were nice people who paid the rent on time, but the long-distance phone bills and excessive usage of electricity was less nice. Eventually, it got so difficult that I decided it was time to have a house that was big enough for just me.
So I started keeping an eye out--not really looking yet, just keeping an eye out--and I realized that it would be good to write down the things I wanted in a house. I'd been told that when you wrote things down, you got them, so I made a list: I wanted a house with a yard half the size of my current one. I wanted to be in every room of the house every single day. I wanted a laundry room. I wanted two bedrooms, one of which I would use as an office. I wanted a nicely-sized kitchen, not too small, not too big. And of course, I wanted it to be in pleasant condition.
As I was writing this list, I kept having thoughts of the sweet little house owned by the principal of the school I taught at. He would be retiring at the end of the year, and moving out of town. I looked over the list and realized that it was all the things I wanted--and it was about a mile from the beach.
I asked whether he was planning to sell his house, and indeed he was--and he was delighted to hear that I was interested in buying it. I was sure that my house would sell for more than he was asking, and we made an arrangement for me to come and take a look. I'd been there before, but now I had all my qualifications in mind: a small yard, two bedrooms, a little kitchen. It was, in fact, everything I had wanted, and as I thought, he asked if I would like to look at the neighborhood.
"Sure!" I told him, expecting that we'd get in his car and take a drive around. Instead, we took a walk--to the beach! I had thought it was a mile away, but it was only a block.
As a child, I had spent a few weeks out of every summer visiting a beach cabin owned by friends of my parents. It was the height of my summer, and here, in this house, I had the chance to live in the height of my summer year-round. I bought the house and lived there for four years, treasuring every second. I am so blessed to be here, I thought to myself.
One morning, I was walking along the beach, and all those conversations with my old friends went through my head. "Unless, of course, I had a chance to live on the beach or something." I hadn't ever taken it seriously, but I'd said it so many times that I had created this situation through my speaking. It had taken 27 years to get to it, but I hadn't said it with any power--I'd said it as if it was something impossible.
But I'd said it.
Imagine if I had said it with power--established it as a goal and written it down. I might have been there twenty years earlier.
Monday, March 9, 2015
How the Goal Setting Queen Came to Be
My journey into goal setting began in 1971 with a new K-8 school called Alternative School #1—a place focused on meeting the individual needs of students, where instead of giving lectures and assigning homework, the teachers would facilitate the development of the students' natural desire to learn, and wherever possible do it through play. The school is now known as Licton Springs Elementary, but back when I began teaching there, it was the second year of the school so things were just getting started.
Because there were no grades, and we weren't to tell the students what to do in the early days, (if I had assigned homework I would have been approached by at least a couple of parents and called a fascist!) I had to come up with a teaching curriculum that would suit the curiosities of the children, rather than trying to force knowledge down their throats. As I was planning my first full year there, I was pondering how I could give students the kind of freedom that I agreed would be great, but still help them to learn, achieve and move forward. I loved the idea of what we were doing, but it was so different from my own educational background, and certainly not anything I had learned in my teacher preparation courses. We were inventing something brand new, so I needed a new way to motivate students that was completely different from what I already knew. I came up with an idea: Before school started, I began forming a team with the student, the parents and myself by meeting with them in their homes. After we had gotten to know each other a bit, I asked each student the following questions:
My work with those students was the very beginning of my work around goal setting.
After doing this for a number of years, I went to Antioch University to earn my Masters. We worked with experts in our field of study to create a program that would help us succeed in our personal and professional goals. I wanted to learn what the scientists had learned about the brain, what it meant for the way people learned, and delve into how it could best be used to affect quality teaching. In my work there, I got to experience for myself the motivation that comes from working toward my own goals. I also was guided to study the research and importance of goal setting, along with many other exciting aspects of learning and teaching. I called my program Whole Brain Learning.
Going back into the classroom, I incorporated all I had learned into my work with students, learning more and more as I actually put my new learning into practice as a teacher.
After I had taught for 27 years, I started up a side business with Legal Shield. As a business this had many similarities to Alternative School #l. We had mentors to help us succeed, but no bosses and no minimum quotas. Guess what they used to motivate us (besides the fact that the more and better we did, the more money we earned)? Setting goals! Working in this company I have learned a great deal more! I have studied Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, among others. I have actually had the chance to study with Jack Canfield, Mike and Steve Melia, Kim Lloyd,T. Harv Eker, and Dave Savula where I learned the importance of not only having goals, but of writing them in a powerful manner.
As I took these courses or listened to these tapes, I was very impressed with what I was learning, and more than a few times determined that I would write all my goals as they suggested. However, each time, I would write one or two goals while actually in the course, take it home inspired, set it in my TO DO pile, put something else on top of it, and never get to it.
That is why I have created a course where people actually get all their goals written in powerful ways, before they leave the room. My reading of the research indicates that even if they don't look at them again (and I do encourage them to do that), they will see a great increase in their success.
Because there were no grades, and we weren't to tell the students what to do in the early days, (if I had assigned homework I would have been approached by at least a couple of parents and called a fascist!) I had to come up with a teaching curriculum that would suit the curiosities of the children, rather than trying to force knowledge down their throats. As I was planning my first full year there, I was pondering how I could give students the kind of freedom that I agreed would be great, but still help them to learn, achieve and move forward. I loved the idea of what we were doing, but it was so different from my own educational background, and certainly not anything I had learned in my teacher preparation courses. We were inventing something brand new, so I needed a new way to motivate students that was completely different from what I already knew. I came up with an idea: Before school started, I began forming a team with the student, the parents and myself by meeting with them in their homes. After we had gotten to know each other a bit, I asked each student the following questions:
- What do you do best?
- What are three things that you want to learn?
- How will you know when you've learned them?
- How do you want to celebrate?
My work with those students was the very beginning of my work around goal setting.
After doing this for a number of years, I went to Antioch University to earn my Masters. We worked with experts in our field of study to create a program that would help us succeed in our personal and professional goals. I wanted to learn what the scientists had learned about the brain, what it meant for the way people learned, and delve into how it could best be used to affect quality teaching. In my work there, I got to experience for myself the motivation that comes from working toward my own goals. I also was guided to study the research and importance of goal setting, along with many other exciting aspects of learning and teaching. I called my program Whole Brain Learning.
Going back into the classroom, I incorporated all I had learned into my work with students, learning more and more as I actually put my new learning into practice as a teacher.
After I had taught for 27 years, I started up a side business with Legal Shield. As a business this had many similarities to Alternative School #l. We had mentors to help us succeed, but no bosses and no minimum quotas. Guess what they used to motivate us (besides the fact that the more and better we did, the more money we earned)? Setting goals! Working in this company I have learned a great deal more! I have studied Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, among others. I have actually had the chance to study with Jack Canfield, Mike and Steve Melia, Kim Lloyd,T. Harv Eker, and Dave Savula where I learned the importance of not only having goals, but of writing them in a powerful manner.
As I took these courses or listened to these tapes, I was very impressed with what I was learning, and more than a few times determined that I would write all my goals as they suggested. However, each time, I would write one or two goals while actually in the course, take it home inspired, set it in my TO DO pile, put something else on top of it, and never get to it.
That is why I have created a course where people actually get all their goals written in powerful ways, before they leave the room. My reading of the research indicates that even if they don't look at them again (and I do encourage them to do that), they will see a great increase in their success.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Fact & Fiction: Goal Setting Studies
You've probably heard of it by now: the famous goal-setting study, conducted in 1979 by the Harvard Business School, or perhaps in 1953 by Yale. It sounds too good to be true—three percent of students earning ten times as much as everyone else, all because they wrote down their goals—and, as it turns out, it is. The American business magazine Forbes sang its praises just last year, unaware that apparently, this particular study never took place. Harvard didn't conduct it, and Yale can find no trace of it.
Does this mean, then, that the theory of goal-setting is all hot air? Not really.
In 2011, motivated by the urban legend, Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University conducted a goal-setting study of her own. Completed by 149 participants, her study reports that those who put their goals in writing enjoyed significantly more success than those who didn't. But you don't have to take our word for it—here's a link to the PDF of the research study's summary.
Does this mean, then, that the theory of goal-setting is all hot air? Not really.
In 2011, motivated by the urban legend, Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University conducted a goal-setting study of her own. Completed by 149 participants, her study reports that those who put their goals in writing enjoyed significantly more success than those who didn't. But you don't have to take our word for it—here's a link to the PDF of the research study's summary.
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