SMART is just an acronym that helps ensure your goals are written in terms that will improve its probability of achievement. For each goal you dream up, ensure that it passes the SMART goal filter:
S – Specific: Be as specific as possible when describing your goal. The more detail the better. The more specific you are, the more ingrained it will be in your mind and your actions.
M – Measurable: How do you know you will have achieved it? How do you know you are making progress towards your goals? Determine what are the best metrics you can use to determine your progress throughout the year. If your goal is to purchase an apartment building, the actual purchase is an obvious metric, but think about the steps you will need to take to get to that purchase. How many buildings will you need to evaluate? How many offers should you be making? How much capital do you need to have available? All of these require their own measures to ensure you are gravitating towards the goal of a purchase an apartment building.
A – Attainable: This is a tricky one because setting attainable goals may encourage you to set goals that are too small. Be careful not to set goals so that you can check all the boxes on December 31. Your goals should be attainable at some level, but be large enough that they make you a little nervous. This nervousness you may be feeling is the feeling of pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone – and that is very good! For example, if your goal is to purchase 10 apartment buildings, it may be unrealistic / unattainable if you plan on doing that by next week. On the other hand, one apartment building within the next 2-3 months, may be a stretch if is your first one and you are just getting started, but very attainable if you align all your energy to get it done.
R – Relevant: Your goals are YOUR goals. They need to matter to you. Period. Your goals need to reflect what YOU want to achieve. The more personal they are, the probability of success skyrockets.
T – Time: All goals need to have a target achievement date. Without a date assigned to it, goals will just float around, unlikely to be achieved. We need urgency to ignite action. Attaching aggressive timelines to your goals will help move them forward.