Powerful Goal Setting Tips for 2021 Success

New Year = New Goals

Added and updated on 7/4/2021: Well, we’re over half way through 2021. How are your goals coming along? I’ve been using Amy Landino’s 18-month absolutely beautiful planner and boy has it helped me stay on track. Check it out on her site, Gatluw House.

Learn these powerful goal setting tips for your 2021 success!

That’s the usual story about this time, isn’t it?

For many of us, New Years means pulling out your bullet journal or accessing your goal-setting app, or whichever medium you use for such a task, and making a list of all the things you hope to achieve in the fresh new year.

But, let’s be frank here, how are you at keeping with your goals long enough into the new year to accomplish them? Do you often find yourself setting the same goals you set the previous year because they weren’t achieved? 

Why do we continue to set goals then, if we find it so challenging to reach them?

A study made by Statistic Brain found that a whopping 92% of goals made at the New Year end in complete and utter failure! That means only 8% are even achieved.

So, why do we even bother and is goal-setting even realistic if so many people fail at it? Does goal-setting have any value? Can goal setting really help us achieve our goals?

Well, according to the ‘experts’ on the topic, it is absolutely essential to set goals if you ever want to actually achieve the results you desire. 

Goal setting is a powerful psychological tool we all have available to help us achieve our dreams and aspirations.

Experts agree that not setting goals leads to living an average life. Aim at nothing and you’ll achieve nothing.

A Harvard Business study found that people who have goals are 10 times more successful than those without goals. 

On the flip side, setting goals and working hard to reach them sets you on the path to a purpose driven life.

People who don’t set goals will be far less successful than those with goals.

The practice of goal setting helps us to see the future and understand what it is we want however, if you want to reach any goals, you have to know exactly what it is you want. This is where the goal setting process, aka journey, begins.

The first place to start is to define what goal-setting is.

What is Goal Setting?

A goal is considered to be an aim or a result of something you desire or something you aim to achieve.

The overall purpose of goal setting is to propel us forward and spark positive change in our lives.

Goals should stretch and challenge you in some way.

To be successful at goal setting, you need to first identify specific goals and write out a plan of how you intend to achieve them. Be realistic through the process.

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”  — Pablo Picasso

The process of writing your goals down on paper will help to clarify and strengthen the intentions you have for reaching them.

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”  — Alexander Graham Bell

Let’s Take a Deep Dive Into the S.M.A.R.T. Goal Technique 

S.M.A.R.T. goals are…smart.

Smart is good. Smart can help us in every aspect of our lives…so, Let’s Get SMART Together!

What does S.M.A.R.T. stand for?

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Time-bounded

The SMART goal-setting technique is considered by many to be the best technique available to actually have any success at all achieving the goals you set out.

SMART goals serve to guide your goal setting efforts.

Because the technique helps you to create more targeted, defined goals, and not vague or too broad of goals, you have more chances of methodically creating specific and attainable goals that you can measure along the way and keep on target with each step needed to fulfil said goals. 

Clear, reachable goals are achievable when executed correctly.

S – Specific

This first step of the SMART technique is a critical launching step in goal-setting strategies. The more specific and detailed you can be for each goal you set, the more likely you will be able to define the steps needed to achieve them.

You want to be as clear and concise about the purpose of the goal, the tasks needed to achieve the goal, and how you plan to make it all happen.

Goals that are too vague and not specific will most likely fail.

Brainstorm your steps to ensure you know where to begin.

Ask yourself:

What exactly do I want to achieve?

Why do I want to achieve this goal?

How will achieving this goal change my life?

What are the steps I need to take to complete this goal?

How long will each step take?

How long before I can completely finish this goal and mark it off my list?

Goal-setting serves to help you isolate the tasks, steps, and milestones necessary to lock in the quantitative objectives and timeframe to be able to reach your goals. Each task should lend itself to the next step needed to fulfill the goal.

Unsure if you’re setting the right goals? Melissa Gratis, a productivity specialist, offers 3 clues to know if you set the right goals.

M – Measurable

The M in SMART stands for Measurable, which are similar to milestones, or a series of steps, that are needed along the way to reach the completion of your main goal.

Measurable goals will serve to help you keep track of your progress and can also serve to keep you motivated along the journey. They also make the goal more tangible, providing a check to measure your progress.

Goals should be broken down into small and manageable steps. This will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Measurable Goals Allow You to Re-Evaluate and Make Needed Changes

By setting these milestones or steps, you will be able to re-evaluate and make any changes that are needed.

These goals, when executed correctly, should define what evidence will prove that you are in deed making the progress you set out to. Making a point of assessing your progress will help you to stay focused, meet your deadlines, and reap the rewards of knowing you’re that much closer to ultimately achieving your desired outcome.

Measurable goals should address questions such as:

• How much?

• How many?

• How often?

• How will I know when I completed the milestone?

The first step in outlining this step of the SMART technique is to determine what metrics you’re going to use to track progress? The above questions will help you.

Be specific with your measurable goals. Include dates, amounts, times, and financial numbers, if applicable. 

“It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.”  — Benjamin E. Mays

A – Attainable

To have any hope of reaching any goals, they absolutely need to be attainable. That might sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how often people’s goals are impossible to achieve. They simply are not attainable.

You want to take some time to ask yourself:

• Is this goal a realistic goal?
• Do I have the resources to achieve this goal, such as time and/or money?
• Do I have the capabilities to achieve this goal?
• What steps do I need to take to accomplish this goal?

The goals you make need to be both realistic and attainable. If it’s not achievable, then the goal isn’t smart.

You need to consider how reaching the goal will impact your life, such as the time and expense involved.

R – Relevant

Aiming to reach a goal is only as good as the goal itself. If your goal isn’t relevant to your ultimate life plan, then achieving it might not accomplish anything worthwhile in the end.

“All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.”  — Orison Swett Marden

Take some time to reflect on the following:

• Will the goal be beneficial to you in the long run?
• Will it be worth the time invested to accomplish it?
• Does it align with your other goals?
• Will it result in positive benefits to your life overall?
• Why do you want to reach this particular goal?

Once you have determined the goal is worthy enough to pursue, then dig further by asking yourself:

• Does the goal seem worthwhile?
• Is the timing right to start working towards the goal?
• Will it be worth all the time and effort in the end?
• Is the goal consistent with my family life, career goals, and education?

You want to ensure that the goal you’re aiming for will be worth your time, effort, sacrifice, and expense. Will it produce a positive change in your life? 

Not all goals will be relevant to where you are in your life right now and where you want to be down the road.

Powerful goal setting tip: Making a list of the benefits and potential losses you might experience after achieving the goal is an important part of the goal-setting process.

T – Time-bounded

“A goal without a timeline is just a dream.” — Robert Herjavec

Anyone can sit down and write a bunch of goals for themselves, but good goals are different in that they absolutely must have a realistic target start date and a target finish date associated with them. Chances are you’re not going to reach your goals without having firm time goals set in place.

“A goal without a deadline is a goal that you have not fully committed to and a goal you will not achieve.”  — Unknown

Having set deadlines in place will serve to keep you focused and motivated to keep working towards the individual milestones within the overall goal.

Without having a firm time plan in place, there will be no sense of urgency or accountability, and overall, you’ll have less motivation to put the work in to achieve the goal.

“A goal properly set is halfway reached.”  — Zig Ziglar

Research has shown that goals with defined deadlines motivate people to take action… the action required to achieve the goal.

With that said, you want to keep the time plan as realistic as possible and flexible enough to allow for unexpected life events that can derail the progress for a spell. You want to keep your morale up to be able to run the race and win the prize.

Essentially, by having time elements in place for your SMART goals, they will help to prevent everyday tasks from assuming the priority over your longer-term goals you’re working towards.

Questions you want to ask yourself include:

• When can I start working towards this goal?

• When do I want to achieve this goal?

• What timeline is achievable?

• Should I plan a break in the timeline?

Is it possible I could run out of time or money needed to accomplish this goal?

Once you’ve answered those questions, pull out a notebook and pen and write down the criteria identified to achieve this goal. This serves to help you see how they relate or interact with each other.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”  — Tony Robbins

Now that you’re learned the SMART goal setting method, it’s time to get started on powerful goal setting.

“Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don’t quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don’t quit until you reach it.”  — Bear Bryant

Additional Resources

Goal-Setting Motivation

Powerful Goal Setting Tips for Creating Your Extraordinary Life

47 Goal Setting Exercises, Tools, & Games (Incl. PDF Worksheets) 

Goals: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life

Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want — Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible

You Goal, Girl: A Goal-Setting Workbook

Image Source: The talent at Unsplash

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