I was taken by surprise recently when I mentioned SMART goals in a meeting at work and several people didn’t know what I was talking about.

I thought that SMART goals had become somewhat of a buzzword in the professional arena, and certainly something that everyone was at least kind of familiar with. After implementing SMART goals into my own life, I have to wonder how people who don’t practice this know when they have reached their goal?

And then it occurred to me why new year’s resolutions are so often abandoned by February 1st (in fact, research shows that 80% of new year’s resolutions are forgotten by February 15th
Diet or eat healthier
Exercise more
Lose weight
Save more money
Learn a new skill
The problem with these goals is that not one of them is specific, which leaves you a lot of gray area to play around in (“I’ll splurge tonight on this ice cream sundae and start fresh tomorrow”, “I’ll just buy this one new electronic”).
They’re not measurable (Exercise how much more? One day per week? Twice a month?).

They’re not actionable (What steps will you take to lose weight? Are you going to sign up for a class to learn your new skill?).

They’re not realistic, simply because they’re so vague.
And finally, they’re not timely because there is no deadline to any of them.
So, you’ve lost one pound by January 20th. Does that mean you met your goal? You ate salads for a week. Was that the end of your diet?

Surely you see where I’m going with this. If you’re going to set goals in the new year, it is imperative to make them SMART goals in order to see the results that you’re looking for. Whatever your aspirations are, setting effective goals can help you get there.

Alternatively, having a poorly constructed goal can put an end to your motivation and make you feel defeated that you’re not getting anywhere. When you set an unreasonable goal, it’s easy to throw in the towel when you don’t see results. The key to success is to make a plan and stick to it by creating SMART goals.

In this article, I will talk a little about the goal setting process, then I will uncover the 7 areas of your life where you can set goals. Finally, I will give you 20 examples of effective goals that can help boost your personal development and improve your life.

7 Areas of Your Life for Setting Important Goals
Career Goals
You career is one of the major components of your life that will determine whether or not you feel fulfilled at the end of the day. Because of this, it is critical to make career goals that will allow you to feel successful and spend your days doing something that you’re passionate about.
Start by determining your long-term career aspirations and the short-term tasks you need to do in order to achieve them. This will make up your career plan, but because your career will be a life-long journey, you will need to reevaluate your goals as necessary as time goes by.
Finance Goals
You need to set financial goals in order to become financially secure. Without having these goals, you are putting yourself at risk of spending frivolously and wasting money, which can lead to hardships if you face unexpected expenses or are ready to retire.

Reevaluating your financial goals every year and updating them as needed will allow you to track your progress and stay financially secure, which can reduce the stress that comes along with life’s unavoidable expenses.

Health Goals
Having health goals will help you live a long, enjoyable life. Evaluate your current state of health in all areas, including your diet, fitness, life balance, family health history, etc. and identify the areas that could use some improvement or attention. What are your current health statistics? Do you have any bad habits right now that could be further increasing your chances of developing a hereditary disease? Create goals to modify your lifestyle as needed to optimize your health.
Leisure Goals
When you think of your leisure time, you may automatically jump to the idea of having a free pass to sit around while doing nothing. However, your leisure time is a great opportunity to work on your personal development.

Identify some things you would like to learn. Your leisure time can be spent productively when you use it to gain new skills that will challenge you in some way. Having hobbies is a great way to reduce stress, explore your talents, and even bring in some extra income. So making goals in this arena is an important way to make the best use of your time in life.

Organizing Goals
You can’t be your most productive if you’re working or living in a chaotic environment. Set goals and expectations for yourself that you can realistically meet that will help you make your time and space more efficient.

Staying organized will help reduce the amount of stress in your life. By keeping up with your organizational goals, you can spend your time and energy focusing on the tasks that are truly important.
Relationship Goals
It’s hard work to maintain healthy relationships. When you’re in a relationship, your goals should be mutually agreed upon with your partner. However, if you’re not currently in a relationship, the relationship that you should work on is the one with yourself. Until you’re happy with the person that you are, you may not be in a position to be the kind of partner that you want to be for someone else.

Spirituality Goals
Your spirituality goals will help you work toward a better life on your journey toward self-actualization. Setting goals in this domain will help you live in line with your values, which means that these goals will be highly individualized in nature. To start setting these goals, explore your beliefs and consider the big questions that you want answered, such as what is your why? Do some self-reflection and meditation to try to set yourself in the right direction in making these goals. There are also some tools and podcasts out there to help you explore your spirituality.
Keep in mind that your smart goals should be so specific that you can’t really read someone else’s example of one and apply it directly to your life. You have your own unique career, health and financial needs, relationships, etc.–so your SMART goals will not be identical to anyone else’s. However, we can look at some examples of goals that you can set in the new year and tailor into SMART goals for your unique situation in these seven areas of your life to improve your wellbeing.

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