Fuzzy goals. Before any talk about SMART goals, we all start with some vague idea of what we want to do. Let’s say you want to go on vacation. You don’t generally wake up one morning with all the details worked out. You have a vague idea – vacation. Some place warm. With a beach. Not too much of a distance to travel. Not too expensive. Fly or drive? Slowly, you gain some clarity on which places will or will not meet your criteria. Eventually you may decide on a destination and can start thinking about specifics such as when you want to go, where you will stay, how you will travel. SMART goals involve those concrete things like location, dates, and reservations.
Travel is a good metaphor for some other features – construction detours, airline delays. Frustrating as those things may be, we don’t generally just throw in the towel and give up on the trip. What are the things that get in the way of you doing what you want? Here is where having the destination in mind is really helpful. If you have to detour or delay, you still can reroute to pursue your destination. Maybe a little more tired or a bit later, but still you arrive.
Distractions. On a road trip, scenic diversions can be part of the experience. In life, scenic diversions can also be part of the experience. Other distractions can be more like mosquitos (annoying) or shiny objects (attractive) that interfere with what you really want. We usually take steps to ward off the mosquitos, it’s not a bad idea to be pro-active with the annoying things that distract us from our destination. The shiny objects – that can be a little harder, but if you recognize your weaknesses, deal with those before they come up as well.
Puzzle Pieces Coaching 