3 Key Ingredients

Danial Mirsajedin

1. Specific

The more specific your goal is the better. Why do people not make specific goals? An ambiguous goal makes it harder for people to know if they failed or achieved their goal. Once you make a specific goal, failure or accomplishment becomes obvious.

Ambiguous goal: “I want to get fit”

What does this mean? You want to put on muscle? How much muscle? Where specifically do you want to put on muscle? Do you want to lose weight? Does losing 1 pound mean you accomplished your goal? How much weight do you want to lose?

Specific goal: “I want to lose ten pounds.”

This way, you have a clear aim and when the time comes, you know exactly how much weight you wanted to lose. If you lose 5 pounds you know it was not enough, and if it was 15 pounds then you exceeded your own expectations.

2. Measurable

How will you know if you accomplished your goal? Some things are harder to measure than others. In our example, the way we would measure our goal is by standing on a scale. We could compare where we are in relation to our goal. If we can not measure our goal, how do we know if we accomplished it?

3. Deadline

We want to have a deadline for our goal. There is a huge difference between I want to lose 10 pounds by next week and I want to lose 10 pounds in the next 5 months. Deadlines allow us to incorporate the appropriate amount of effort towards our goal. 10 pounds in 5 months equates to losing 2 pounds a month. This will help you better structure your habits towards this goal.

If you enjoyed this article, please let me know how you go about setting your goals in the comments below!