What’s A Good Goal?
Filed under: Motivation, Self Improvement, Time Management, Tools
Answer - A good goal is something you can barely achieve in the time specified.
Notice some important things.
Can Achieve
If my goal is “I want to win the next ms. America contest” that’s a pretty bad goal. As a 35 year old man, I really doubt I could be Ms. America. So that’s lesson #1, a good goal has to be achieveable.
Barely
A good goal is something you need to strive for and try really hard. If it’s easy, it’s not a good goal. If my goal is to get to 220lbs then that’s a pretty bad goal, since I already weigh 221. Losing 1lb is meaningless and easy.
Time Specified
A goal with no timeline is meaningless. I want to reach 180lbs. Really? When? Is it next month? That’s not achieveable and so it’s stupid. Is it within the next ten years? Also meaningless. Is it by Dec 31st, 2009? Well, now we’re talking. That’s achieveable but it’s tough, which makes it a perfect goal. I would have to push myself to achieve this but I think I could do it. Alternatively, I could say my goal is to reach 215lbs by end of June. Again, tough but achievable. Notice how the numbers change with the timeline. Something that’s impossible in the short term could be a good goal in a longer time frame. Alternatively, something that’s easy in the long term could be tough but doable in a shorter time line.
The Magic Three Parts
So remember, when setting your goals:
- Achievable - If it’s not doable, it’s not a good goal. It may be nice to day dream but those day dreams are meaningless as goals unless there’s a way to make them come true.
- Tough - A good goal must challenge you. It must not be easy. It must be hard and push you right to your limits.
- Time based - A good goal must have a deadline. This deadline will in many cases determine if the goal is too tough or too easy. Without a deadline, a goal is useless.
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What are your goals and their deadlines? Would love to hear them through the comments. Feel free to include non fitness related goals if you want to share.
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