Just as me, you may have struggled on setting personal SMART goals every new year, or every month or quarter. It is always a tough process.
In one of our recent posts we discussed about some ideas provided by Alvaro Gonzalez Alorda about transformation through inspiration.
One of Alvaro’s ideas that catched my attention in a powerful way was this about head, heart and hands, meaning transformation goes through the mind, touched the heart and becomes actions. Another idea was this about transformation occurring in people’s habits and behaviors.
I’ve always loved the SMART framework for setting goals. I believe it really provides a way to think through possible and specific achievements to aim for that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.
Beyond that, I have been reflecting a lot recently about missing pieces in my own goal-setting process. How do I think of meaningful and self-transformational goals that actually help me grow and become better at something?
Through this reflection, that touches Alvaro’s ideas, I came through several domains for high value / transformational goals:
- Habits and Behaviors
- Skills and Competencies
- Classic Achievements
Of those three, the most powerful I believe are those in the habits and behaviors domain. It touches the core of ourselves on how we act and react “by default” on something and they really reflect into one core thing: values integrity.
So, let me do a reflection on these domains from the more surface layers to the deepest.
Classic Achievements (CA)
This has to do with specific things such as certain metric, or certain delivery at work. For instance we can consider an achievement to reach our ideal weight or body muscle/fat composition. Another example would be playing certain song in the guitar; or closing a deal at work; or climbing Mount Everest.
I call these the most superficial, just because they are the visible part of deeper processes/goals within.
Skills and Competencies (S&C)
Acquiring a new skill or growing in certain competencies is a deeper layer. It provides us new capabilities such as using certain technology, or acquiring certain level of body strength. Examples of these could be (1) being capable of 40 repetitions of well done push-ups; (2) lifting 20lb weights for 30 repetitions in a row; (3) biking certain amount of miles up hill, (4) speaking in public with confidence and deliverying a sound message, (5) singing with clarity and beauty and emotion, etc.
Skills and competencies represent a middle layer of internal development and growth. They enable us to do specific achievements, but somehow transform us to certain level.
Habits, Routines and Values (HRV)
The deepest layer I can think of is that defined by our values which become manifest in our habits and behaviors.
The way we act, the way we react are a reflection of how integrally we have adopted our values.
The way we transform our habits and behaviors clearly defines the way we have really grown from the inside in terms of values integrity.
So at this point I am trying to define my goals for 2022 coming quarter as what habits, behaviors and routines can I aim to tranform to become better at the values I love.
Examples of HRV goals involve: (1) the habit of reading, (2) meditation schedule, (3) the way I listen to others, (3) the way I talk to others, (4) the way I organize my work; (5) my work-out habits; (6) study habits; (7) the way I react to others talking to me in different emotional states.
It is not that goals about classic achievements, or new skills and competencies are not good, or not needed. But habits, behaviors and values enable everything all the way up; and they are (at least in my case so far) rarely thought about or articulated as SMART goals.
Despite of subjectivity we may find in behaviors, habits and values, I think we can still articulate SMART goals. For instance instead of (or in support of) achieving an ideal weight of 70Kg, I can set up a goal of working out 15 minutes a day every day; and that will make all the difference.
Thanks for getting up to here in reading this post!
I wish you the best luck in setting up goals on the three levels, tracking them and conqueering them with effort and discipline!
This is open content; so feel free to share it with your beloved ones as they also make efforts to continuously transform and become better.
