“Trying to set a clear goal, but have no idea where to start?”
Goal setting can be a tricky skill to master, especially with the start of February upon us and many peoples New Year resolutions and goals have already fallen by the way side. If goal setting was easy then everyone who set a goal would achieve it and we know from experience that this just not happen. One of the reasons for this is people are told to follow the SMART acronym. They are instructed that success in goal setting can only be achieved by having Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound goals.
This process can work for many people and they go on to achieve their goals using this mantra. However, you may have tried this before and it didn’t work or resonate with you – don’t worry – it’s not you, it may just be that SMART goal setting just doesn’t work for you. I’ll let you into a secret – it never really worked for me, so I was delighted when working with my mentor he introduced to the concept of having a “foggy vision”.
A foggy vision means you know what you don’t want but you’re not sure what you do want and that you struggle to be specific. With SMART goals people are encouraged to have a clear vision of where they want to go or who they desire to be. This is where SMART falls down for those people who don’t have this vision, so they do one of two things. They either create something and then chase a goal they don’t really want or they get frustrated so they give up and then don’t try to achieve their goals.
An example of this was when a client came to me, hating their current job and wanting to quit. They had worked with another coach who had pushed them really hard to set a clear goal. It didn’t work. They ended up with a goal they didn’t feel aligned to, and even though it was clear, it didn’t feel authentic.
When they came to me, we recognised that life is a journey. We developed a foggy vision of the future that felt really good, then we were able to create a flexible map of action steps. She got started immediately and now has an amazing new business that’s she’s really proud of. She never could have conceived of this business when she was stuck in a job she hated. We needed to start with a foggy vision.
I use this way of setting goals to support my clients for whom SMART just doesn’t work. It helps them work in a way that actually suits them. This means they are being smart by not being SMART. We use this system around their referral marketing strategy in particular as a way to get hem started and really build momentum with their business.
If you’d like to see how this works in real time and for you then drop me a line.
Here’s to your success!
Dave