SMART Goals don't work - here's why...

Like me, I guess most of us have at some point in our careers been to a training event or workshop delivered by a somewhat bewildered nervous presenter who tells us that Goals are Good and they need to be SMART too...

For the uninitiated a SMART Goal should be;

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic 
Time Framed

I am in agreement with 3 out of the 5 - the S,M & T are fine...

The A & R, however, are misleading - in my view...

Why...?

It's because of how we decide what is Achievable and Realistic; and here's the problem...

We are not educated to "think" or "dream" we are educated towards the left side of our brains - logic, science, maths and languages are valued more highly than dance, art and music for example...

Creativity, risk taking and ambition are best avoided...

We are educated to work within companies from 9 to 5. We are pressured to get a job with a steady salary, buy a home with a mortgage, watch reality TV and eat junk food...

We are not encouraged to think big and "go for it" - if everyone did that, the capitalist system would fall down - it needs only a few Queen Bee's, but millions of Worker Bee's to keep it going...

So - when we think in terms of Realistic or Achievable - we always aim too low - because that's how we have been conditioned...

What appears to be Achievable and Realistic to us is only actually 2% of what we are truly capable of...

I would bet that Elon Musk, Richard Branson's version of Realistic or Achievable is somewhat different to most other people's...

They think in terms of Revolutionary or Amazing - and so should we...

We need to de-clutter our minds and unravel the years of conditioning - if you want to find out what a Dream looks like; ask a 6 year old what they want to be...

They will say Astronaut, Rock Star, Dancer etc. because they haven't had the "benefit" of industrial age education yet - ask them again at 26 and see what has happened...

Are you living your Dream - or are there some adjustment to be made...?

Imagine...

You buy a small coffee table - one of those small square ones from Ikea would be fine for this experiment...

Picture Credit - www.ikea.com

You place it in the middle of your Lounge, Sitting Room or any open space within your home...

What will happen...?

You will find that after a few days the table will have attracted sets of keys, receipts, gloves, nik-naks and general "stuff"...

It's called the Law of Vacuum - nature abhors a vacuum and will ensure that it gets filled with "something" in the case of the coffee table the vacuum of free space gets filled with "stuff" that would otherwise be somewhere else - it is a random effect...

If you want to tidy a room - don't get rid of the clutter, get rid of the surfaces on which it can gather...

Now imagine that in your mind there is a similar "free space" - it's not a coffee table, it is called "Ambition, Creativity and Entrepreneurship" ACE for short...

Up to the age of around 9 we have amazing dreams and ambitions placed in our ACE - up until the point where we go to secondary school and then these dreams and ambitions get killed off and swept away - leaving a Vacuum that we allow to attract and get cluttered with "stuff"..

This "stuff" includes lack of belief, fear, anxiety, low self esteem - need to comply with the expectations of society and others, family pressure and peer group pressures to conform...

So...

There is no room here for wealth, success and real happiness - there is no space left - the vacuum has been filled...

The opportunity is to create a new vacuum, by clearing out all the accumulated "stuff" and allow Ambition, Creativity and Achievement to replace them...

Stop reading the News Papers - especially the tabloids, don't watch Soaps or Reality TV, avoid negative people...

Stop thinking and behaving like a worker bee...

Start reading books - especially biographies, watch Video's on TED.com, go to Seminars and Workshops - hang out with successful ambitious people...

Goal Setting should not be based on what is Achievable and Realistic - both of these terms restrict our thinking - surely we want to achieve something more in our lives than "REALISTIC"...?

You deserve so much more than that...

If you want to achieve something amazing, create the space for it to happen...

Create the space for something amazing...

Have a great week...

David Holland is an Author, Speaker and Business Coach, who works with ambitious and sometimes slightly terrified Business Owners, Entrepreneurs and Executives making sure they don't jump off the bridge or go completely insane as they build they businesses and lives......

Unlike other "Coaches and Guru's" he doesn't take himself too seriously, but does do whatever it takes to enable the people he comes into contact with to survive and thrive in business and life; he's also a pretty good rock drummer and biker too.

He's got an MBA too - but only his Mom is impressed by that...

If you are bored, you could buy one of his books - if you actually read it, which apparently 76% of people don't - you'll learn about life, business and success and just maybe make a few more $$$ in the process.. Click HERE...

Want to find out more and join the eclectic tribe of amazing people we call friends, colleagues and clients..?

Email me - the first email is FREE - davidholland@resultsrulesok.com

...and then brace your self for the ride of your life...