My son Eric shared some ideas about goal setting. He thinks the SMART goals model may fall short. He developed a model that goals should be specific, meaningful, and challenging.
SPECIFIC: Goals should outline details of what will be accomplished. For example,
- Setting a goal to buy a car, may get you a car, but not exactly what you wanted.
- Setting a goal to buy a 2011, 4.3 liter V8, Lexus SC convertible, with the obsidian exterior, the black leather trim with dark walnut accent interior, and the 18-inch G Spider wheels enhances the possibility you will achieve your goal.
MEANINGFUL: We should set some goals that mean something. They should mean something to you. They change your life. They should change the lives of others. They may even change the world.
Ten years ago, I knew a Dr. Christensen. He was a neonatal physician that set a meaningful goal. He wanted to reduce the number of babies dying from respiratory failure at birth. Working with the neonatal physicians association and a non-government organization. He would recruit physicians and nurses to travel to developing countries for two weeks at a time. The teams would teach local doctors and nurses how to resuscitate babies. The teams would train 15-20 doctors. However, each person trained committed to train at least 10 others in their country. More than 30,000 medical teams have received the training since he began. You can learn more about this example at http://lds.org/library/page/display/0,7098,6211-1-3217-1,00.html
CHALLENGING: We should set some goals each year that cause us to stretch to achieve them. They should make us work to achieve them. They should challenge our intellect, our stamina, our courage, and our comfort zone. Yet, too many people set easy goals, just so they can achieve them easily.
