SMARTER Goals!

You may have heard of SMART goals, which can help you to reach great heights, but did you know that SMARTER goals takes this concept to a whole new level? The last two letters stand for “Evaluate” and “Revise” and I believe they are an essential part of the process.

When you take the time to evaluate our progress, it gives you time to reflect on questions like:

Is this goal still something I want to go for or did new information present itself that is inspiring me to shift my course?

Do I need to break down my goal into a smaller step because I am missing some information or a specific skill?

After evaluating you can Revise your goals to reflect the shifts that you want to make.

SMART goals were first mentioned in an article by George T. Duran. If you haven’t heard of SMART goals before, let’s review the process briefly.

S – Specific

First you need to choose a specific area of improvement. This could be in the area of relationships, career, finance, hobbies, learning a skill, fitness, and so on. Let’s say for the sake of this article we focus on the area of fitness. Some great questions for setting a specific goal are:

What do I want to achieve?

Why is this goal important?

M – Measurable

Now we select a bench mark. Some fitness goal examples are: 1. Cardio three times a week 2. Play sports twice a week 3. 100 sit-ups a day –and so on. The goal needs to be measurable so you can know when you have achieved success.

How much?

How many?

How will I know when the goal is accomplished?

A – Achievable

Now we want to make sure that this goal is achievable. If it’s not achievable at this time, maybe the goal needs to be broken down into a smaller step first to get to a point where it’s achievable. For the fitness example, do you have all the equipment you would need? Do you need a gym membership?

Do I have all the resources I need to achieve this?

How realistic is it based on my constraints?

R – Relevant

In the fitness example, you may have a broader goal of becoming fit or being healthy. If that’s the case, your fitness goal aligns with your values of being fit and healthy.

Does this goal align with your long-term goals and values?

Is it the right time to work toward this goal (seasonal, political, financial, or other restrictions)?

Is it the right time in your life to work toward this goal?

T – Time Specific

Setting a time frame can really help you to become motivated to achieve your goals. In the fitness example this could mean engaging in cardio 3 times a week for 30 minutes.

When will you see results?

How long will you engage in the activity for? Minutes? Weeks? Months?

Do you want to complete this goal by a specific date?

E – Evaluate

As mentioned above, this step can be important in determining if you need to correct your course. You might be struggling with achieving your original goal, or find that you don’t like a particular exercise and need to switch to something else. This phase of evaluation will help you to recognize a change is needed.

Is this goal still relevant?

Is this goal still achievable?

Did I learn new information that inspired me to change course?

R – Readjust

Now that you’ve evaluated your progress you have the opportunity to adjust your original goal. You might also change your approach to achieving the goal. Let’s say you started your fitness program at home, but found yourself unmotivated. Maybe attending a class at a gym would help to keep you accountable to your goal.

Readjust may also apply to your mindset. Take a moment to consider the thoughts you have that arise when you are engaged in activities. If you find that there’s a lot of negative chatter, try using some positive affirmations to make your work easier. Say to yourself “I can achieve anything I put my mind to” or “In it to Win it” before your activity.

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Let me know how your SMARTER goals are coming along! Write me below in the comments.

References:

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/smart-goals

https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/brief-history-of-smart-goals.php

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm

Setting S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goals: 7 Steps to Achieving Any Goal

How to Handle Mars Retrograde 2020

September 9th – November 13th

2020 has been a year for the books. We have seen a lot of things come to light in 2020 vision and the ride is not over yet. While each of us have been clearing out the dense energies and emotions, the next couple of months will be like a highlight reel of the year so far.

Things you have already cleared will come up one last time to “say good-bye” and that’s exactly what you should do. Just wave and let it pass you by. If you find that these are bringing up deeper emotions try and just sit with them and watch them until they pass. What you don’t want to do is grab on and develop an attachment. Simply let it flow through you by focusing on your breath and recognize that this pattern presenting itself is an old version of you.

Mars is the planet of action and when it’s in retrograde your plans may feel like they are not moving forward. There’s a possibility to see people more frustrated during this time period because they are trying to push through this mud. To work with the Mars retrograde energy, it’s better to wait until the energy moves you forward. Sit in contemplation and re-evaluate your goals one more time. This year has been a major course correct for many people and even if you have already “Mari condoed” your life path or your home three times, it may be time to take one last sweep through to really focus and clean up. Come November, the train will start moving forward again at full speed ahead. You want to make sure that you are ready for this energetic shift.

Mars retrograde will also be bringing up anger issues. You may throw tantrums or see others throw tantrums. The best advice when you are witnessing this is to just hold this person in a compassionate way and wait until this is over. They are just letting go of anger and it’s important that you also don’t hold on to this release.

This is really good advice for the whole year and life in general. Humans are like a flickering flame, constantly in motion and never the same from one moment to the next. When someone is having an emotional reaction, hold them in compassion and when it is over, let it go with them. Holding on to emotions keeps us trapped in the past. We want to be continually showing up in the present moment and to do that we need to let go of our old selves.

This time will feel like the energy of the phoenix rising. The old will be burned off and the new you will rise up from the ashes. This will just happen due to the alignments at this time, just allow the energy to work on you and let go of your old self.

Much Love & Light!

-Ananda