Setting goals is an important step towards achieving success, but how many of us set goals each year that are long forgotten by the end of January? “I am going to start exercising,” “I am going to start eating right“ or “I am going to lose weight”. Sound familiar? To make sure that you reach your goals and dreams in 2010, learn how to set SMART goals.

If you want to achieve a certain goal, you have to be specific in what you actually want to achieve. This will help you stay focused and committed during the process of reaching this goal. For example, if you want to start exercising, your goal could be to run a 5km race in eight weeks’ time. If you keep that specific goal in mind, you’ll stay more focused and dedicated than if you just decided to start running without any clear plan of how you want to progress. Another example is to avoid saying that you want to lose weight. Rather set a specific goal, losing 5kg in 10 weeks for example, as this gives you a target to work towards – thereby making it difficult for yourself to put it off each week.

In order to get the best results, goals should be measurable. In other words, they should include measurable parameters that answer question, including how much or how many? Let’s say your goal is to run a 5km race. A measurable outcome could be running 15km a week by the fourth week. If a goal is measurable, you can tell exactly when the goal has been reached or whether you need to adjust the goal. Following your exercise programme is a useful way to track weekly progress or adjust your weekly goals if necessary. When aiming to lose weight, you’re measurable outcome could be to lose half a kilogram a week. This is easy to measure and track.

In order to reach your goals they have to be action orientated – there needs to be something that you must do in order to achieve your goal. It is only by setting your goal into action that it will become a reality.

In order for goals to be achieved, they need to be realistic. If your ultimate goal is to run a marathon, but you have never run more than 5km before, then break it down into smaller goals that are realistically achievable, such as to first run 5km in eight weeks, then later a 10km or longer. From that point, running a full marathon will be more realistically achievable. Research shows that a realistic amount of weight loss is ½ to 1kg a week, so don’t set yourself a goal of losing 10kg in one month. If your goals aren’t realistic, there is a much higher chance of you abandoning them and failing.

For best results, goals should be set to a time scale. This will keep you more focused, and the goal more tangible and achievable. If there is no time scale, it is very easy to say you’ll get there one day… but one day could be 10 years later or never!

Following the SMART plan, and staying committed and dedicated should make achieving goals a little easier. Remember, once you have reached that point of achievement, enjoy it and reward yourself! When you look back on how far you’ve come, you’ll gain confidence and be able to realise your full potential. This will give you the means to achieve further targets and reach even higher goals.