Inspiration or Desperation?

In his book, Man’s Search For Meaning Victor Frankl gives us a clear connection between finding our purpose in life and goal setting. Frankl, an Austrian Psychiatrist, was a prisoner in the German concentration camps during World War 2. In his book that has reached over 18 million copies, he details the psychological trauma of the camps and how those who survived attempted to deal with the inhumane conditions.

In his award winning book, he states:

“It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future, and setting goals, even if he doesn’t achieve them. It orients his efforts, and brings meaning to his suffering. It creates purpose. This is what brings him his salvation in the most difficult of moments of his existence, although sometimes he has to force his mind to the task."

Frankl also provides another example of the connection between orienting one’s life towards a future goal, and the loss of faith in the future:

“Prisoners who had held out hope for the end of the war or to be freed by a certain date either though prediction, prophecy or dreams, often succumbed to illness, disease, and death soon after the named date had passed.”

This stark contrast gives us a clear understanding of the connection between our need to set goals and purpose. When we have a purpose, a goal, it gives us a reason, a cause for our actions.

Under less austere circumstances of our day to day lives, we can apply these same principles when we are seeking out what we should do with our life – our purpose in life. That’s also the first place where we should look and investigate when we should try to find what our purpose in life is, and where we should look as our first potential opportunity to become successful. It makes sense as a place to start. If I could share a secret with you, it is to find your primary passion and pursue that. This is what the successful people have maintained when they speak of how to become successful – pursue something that you are passionate about.

SMART Goal Setting

So what gets your mojo – your motivation going? What stimulates your “creative” juices that could turn you into the next Donald Trump or Oprah Winfrey?

Motivation can be defined as a concept used to describe the factors within an individual which arouse, maintain and channel behavior towards a goal.

Another way to say this is that motivation is goal-directed behavior.

There are two types of motivation: external and internal. They are that which comes from within us or from outside in the environment – a social group for example, like a team. Now don’t get caught up in whether it should be external or internal, just recognize that it’s motivation – a purpose, cause, reason.

Whether to lose weight for your health or to enjoy your family, it’s important to recognize what motivates our actions. To learn what you really should pursue as your primary passions, I encourage you to pick up a pen and a piece of paper and jot down the goals you want to reach.

Have two sets of goals, one for today and one for long term goals. Look at each goal and evaluate it. Make any changes necessary to the long term goals, while going after the short term ones everyday. You know you’ve selected a goal when it meets the criteria as a SMART goal. Goals must meet the following test:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely

Specific

Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen – what motivates you. Specifics, defined goals help us clearly define what we are going to do and focus our efforts in it pursuit.

Specific is: What, Why, and How.

WHAT are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, create, plan, build, make, do, etc.
WHY is this important to do at this time? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?
HOW are you going to do it? What are the means to make it happen? (By way of...).
Ensure the goals you set are specific, clear and easy. Instead of setting a goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to lose 10 lbs. or to start exercising.

Measurable

A goal without a number is just a slogan.

If you can't measure it, you can't achieve it. In the big picture sense, the goal statement is a measure for the project. If the goal is accomplished, there is progress and success. Success can be measured on different time lines as well. Along with daily goals, there are usually several smaller measurements or short-term goals – milestones - that can be built into the long term goal.
Whether short term or long term, choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. Be specific when you see will your reach your goal. There is an element of quantity and time. "I want to lose 10 lbs before my birthday" or “I want to enroll in school before Sept. of this year.” This shows the specific target to be measured. "I want to be rich" is not as measurable, but “I want to earn a million dollars in 5 years, is measurable.”

Establish concrete criteria for measuring your progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. In expending energy on your goals, you can measure your progress, and stay on track. When you reach your target dates, you experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued efforts required to reach your goals.

Attainable

When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You create with the Universe the conditions to make it happen on your behalf. You develop that attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. The Universe conspires to provide you with the ways and means to make it happen. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

On the other hand, goals you set which are too far out of your reach, you probably won't commit to doing. Although you may start with the best of intentions, the knowledge that it's too much for you means your subconscious will keep reminding you of this fact, and will stop you from even giving it your best.

A goal needs to stretch you slightly – stretching your abilities. While it may be out of your comfort zone, you should still feel you can do it, though it may need a real commitment from you. For instance, if you want to lose 20lbs in one week, we all know that isn't achievable. But setting a goal to lose 1lb in a week, and when you've achieved that, aiming to lose another 1lb, will make it attainable and will keep it achievable for you.

The feeling of success which this brings helps you to remain motivated.

Realistic

Realistic, in this case, means "do-able." It means that the learning curve is not a vertical slope but the skills needed to accomplish the work are available or can be acquired. The efforts and project fit with the overall strategy and goals both in the short term and the long term. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn't break them. It shouldn’t it be so easy either that the progress is immeasurable, and the sense of accomplishment in negligible.

In the process you need to devise a plan or a way of getting there which makes the goal realistic. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you are at the moment. You can’t win the lottery unless you buy a ticket, as the expression goes. A goal of never eating sweets again may not be realistic for someone who really enjoys them.

It may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit a day instead of a piece of candy. You can then choose to work towards reducing the amount of sweets gradually as this feels realistic for you.

Set goals that you can attain with some degree of effort. If they are too difficult, you may set the stage for failure. Too low and you send yourself the message that you aren't very capable. Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement but not too high so that you feel frustrated and dispirited!

Timely

Set a timeframe for the goal: for next week, in three months, by the end of the year. Putting an end point or end date to your goals gives you the center of the clear target to aim for or work towards. It also provides closure and an element of assessment and measurability of your progress.

If you don't set a time, your commitment is too vague and scattered. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there's no urgency to starting or taking action now, no necessity in acquiring the resources or the skills to make it happen.

Time must be measurable, attainable and realistic.

Setting The Bar For Success

The most successful people and organizations have followed this path to success. SMART goal setting is the instrument to apply in setting your goals and objectives.

“The only way to pass the test is to take the test.”

SMART goal setting provides you with all the ingredients to making your hopes and dreams come true.

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours...If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."

Henry David Thoreau

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