Next Level Goal Setting

A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found people make the same resolution 10 times without success, and yet SMART goal setting frameworks are still touted each and every January. Perhaps its time for a shake-up? We’ve taken a look at new ways to help you up your goal game.

WRITTEN BY COURTNEY ROBINSON

Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely, yada yada. We’ve heard it all before. But there’s a reason that 92 per cent of people who set goals in the New Year never achieve them. Perhaps those SMART goals aren’t so clever. “The three traits of effective goal setting are specificity, time and knowing how you’re going to achieve it,” says Strength and Fitness Coach Danny Kennedy (@djkfitness).

Industry Educator and Trainer, Sofia Toumbas (@sofiatoumbas), agrees, noting the magic ingredient is a true desire to change. “One element that SMART goals lack is the passion and true motivation behind wanting to achieve the goal, and the prospective value achieving it will add to your life,” she says.

Level up your goal setting “A truly effective goal should push and challenge you to achieve great things,” writes Mark Murphy, author of HARD Goals: The Secret to Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be in a recent Forbes article.

Murphy suggests that SMART goals, with their focus on being realistic and achievable, encourage us to stay within the limits of our abilities. Even worse, they lack the emotional connection to trigger transformation – whether you’re chasing a fitness target, a financial milestone or #couplegoals. He suggests HARD goals deliver better outcomes because they are intrinsically tied to your motivations.

WHAT EVEN ARE HARD GOALS?

HARD goal setting is a management concept made mainstream. Here’s how it works: Heartfelt – What is your underlying motivation? This is something you need to do rather than something you feel you should do. If becoming an entrepreneur will result in freedom, passion and unlimited creativity, you’ll stick with the goal despite the initial long hours for poor pay.

Animated – How will it feel to kick this goal? The more colourful and vivid your vision, the better. If you’re saving for a house, think about how it will look, how it will feel when you come home from work, how you will entertain your friends on the patio and how you will spend your weekends there. Creating a powerful visualisation will drive you to save every possible dollar – even when the Boxing Day sales loom.

Required – Why is this goal more important than anything else in your life? If you can’t stop thinking about creating your own brand, you’ll put it before all other priorities – including trips away, nights out with the girls or a lazy Sunday sleep-in.

Difficult – There’s no victory in the easy win. Identify the skills you need to learn and the traits you’ll need to develop and how hard you’ll need to push to hit that goal.

“I start my mornings with meditation, goal setting for the day and gratitude. These three things set me up for a successful and positive day before I’ve even left the house.” Sofia Toumbas MAKE YOUR MORNINGS MATTER

“Pre-writing a daily checklist with all your system goals and tasks for the day will also help in ensuring each task is completed.” Danny Kennedy

It may sound counterintuitive, but setting difficult goals leads to better performance. The very nature of difficult goals propels us outside our comfort zone and into our potential. Murphy’s study showed that people who set HARD goals felt up to 75 per cent more fulfilled than those who set weaker goals. Defining those difficult goals is a skill, says Associate Professor Clare Minahan of Griffith University Sports Science. “There’s a fine line between challenging goals that provide motivation and what’s actually achievable,” she says. She recommends setting five to six smaller goals that align with your long-term objectives to help toe that line between aspirational and achievable. If running a marathon is your longerterm goal, set smaller progressive goals – such as hitting your training schedule consistently, setting time-based targets, or competing in shorter distance events – in the lead-up to race day. If HARD goal setting sounds too, well, hard, there are a wealth of other methods at your fingertips. From identity goals, where you focus on your sense of self, to system goals, where the process or behaviours are as important as the outcome, there’s an approach to suit every personality. The secret is finding the tactic that deeply motivates you to take action. Is there a downside to goal setting? Setting a specific, performance-based goal can actually be limiting, creating a mental ceiling that causes you to tap out before you reach your potential. If deadlifting 100kg is your goal, and you do the hard work and finally make the lift, then that’s great. Objective achieved. But what if you could have lifted 110kg? 120kg? There’s a fine line between setting an achievable goal and a modest one. Bouncing back Failing to hit a goal can derail even the most motivated among us. This is where HARD and identity goals shine – highlighting behavioural change and stepping into who you really want to be. As Minahan says, “Missing that one long-term goal can seem less important when you’ve achieved multiple small short-term goals.” If you fail that one-rep max, you can still take pride and satisfaction in your commitment to the process.

Intention beats motivation Research shows 60 per cent of people who resolve to make behavioural change fail beyond six months. How to keep momentum when the first flush of motivation wanes?

A study in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that intention blitzes motivation when it comes to achieving goals. A whopping 91 per cent of people followed through when they wrote down how, where and when they would train.

To achieve your goals, get intentional. And allow for contingencies. If deadlines loom and you can’t hit the gym after work, when will you train? If you didn’t get time to prep on the weekend, what takeaway options still fit your macros?

This concept of ‘if X, then Y’ can triple your chances of succeeding at your health, career and relationship objectives, says Heidi Grant Halvorson, Social Psychologist at Columbia University. You’re strategising specific actions to reach your goal, even if your original plan goes sideways.

GOAL

SETTING APPROACHES

SMART GOALS The gold standard of goal setting. But does it actually work for goal achieving? This framework is ideal for rational, linear thinkers – those who select a course of action and don’t deviate. However, there’s no emotional connection to the goal. So when the going gets tough, many abort their mission. Pros: Clear-cut and objective. You either achieved the goal or you didn’t. Cons: Lacks emotional resonance. May lack sustainability because the focus is on achieving a singular outcome, rather than behavioural change. Ideal for: Financial goals. If you’re saving for a home deposit, you’ll want a definitive, unemotional, tangible plan of action. Get SMART about saving and start banking those dollars.

IDENTITY GOALS Ask yourself, ‘Who do I want to be?'. Identity goals get to the heart of your motivation, values and attributes. For this reason, they can be more compelling and sustainable over time. But identity goals can be slightly ambiguous – in the absence of a hard metric, how do you know when you’re really kicking it or just phoning it in? Pros: Deeply connected to your sense of self and creating lasting change. Cons: Outcomes can be hard to measure, which may impact motivation and momentum. Ideal for: Relationship goals. If spicing up your sex life is a priority, identity goals such as, ‘I always put my phone down and listen when my partner speaks’ or ‘I practice patience when he leaves the towel on the bathroom floor again’ will create a stronger connection over time – which just might lead to getting down on the daily.

PERFORMANCE GOALS Ask yourself, ‘What do I want to achieve?'. Then write down your intentions, record a baseline measure and do the work. Since performance goals are all or nothing (you either achieved your one rep max or you didn’t; you either got that promotion or you didn’t), set interim benchmarks regularly to evaluate your progress and celebrate the little wins. Pros: A clearly defined outcome that stretches your abilities and pushes you outside of your comfort zone. Cons: Failing to hit your target can derail your motivation. Remember that failing a goal doesn’t make you a failure. Ideal for: Career progression. If the C-suite is calling, ask your boss what you need to achieve to be considered for the gig. Volunteer for projects that boost your resume and your visibility within the company. Investing in yourself is never a waste and doors open more often than you think. Be ready.

SYSTEM GOALS “System goals encourage people to achieve mini-goals throughout their day. These types of goals promote behaviour change,” says Toumbas. Examples of system goals include, ‘I will drink one litre of water upon waking’ or ‘I will make sure I get one cup of veggies into every meal’. Focus on the positive habits and the results will follow. Pros: Promotes sustained behavioural change – prioritising daily actions instead of the outcome instils confidence and resets your behaviour to your ‘new normal’. Cons: It can feel a little like Groundhog Day, since your focus is on the system (the ‘work’) as opposed to the outcome (the ‘reward’). Ideal for: Fitness goals. If smashing your one rep max or blitzing your 10 kilometre time is your 2020 motivation, a bulletproof framework of consistent training, nutrition, recovery and progression will get you there.

HARD GOALS Ask yourself, ‘What is it that sets me on fire, that I can’t stop thinking about?'. Visualise yourself achieving that goal, unpack the skills you’ll need to crush it, then create urgency to get it done. Pros: Passion fuels action. Accomplishment generates momentum – you’ll not only smack that goal, you’ll sustain your excitement as you unlock your potential. Cons: It’s hard. Getting real with your true ‘why’, being honest about your current limitations and refusing to settle take mental, physical and emotional commitment. Ideal for: Turning your side hustle into your main hustle. When you’re burning the midnight oil and sidelining your social life, you’ll need a reminder of why this will all be worth it. S

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