At this point in the goal-setting process, you’ve found your why and made your steps SMART. Your why is laying your foundation and the SMART steps are the fundamental tactics that you’re going to take. So far, this has been more of a nuts-and-bolts approach to setting a goal. And even though asking yourself why you want to achieve your goal is tapping into your purpose, this last step really goes deep into making sure you tap into that core feeling for sustained motivation. Essentially, you’re finding the HEART of your goal. Tactics are important, but to succeed, your goals need HEART.
H — Healthy
One of the most important elements when planning any goal is making sure it encompasses all aspects of your health and well-being. That means looking out for yourself in the long-term. Some of this should have come to light when you were doing your SMART goals. Particularly, when making sure your goal is realistic and time-based. This is the moment to double check and make sure that you have taken into account any physical, mental, or emotional obstacles that you need to include in your tactical steps.
There can be a tendency to only think about physical health, but not all goals have a physical element. And even if it does, there are other stressors to consider. You want to have goals that you have to work hard at and push yourself towards. But you don’t want to success to come at the expense of your health. As you’re creating your action steps be sure to take your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health into account.
E — Enduring
Finding your why is so important because it ensures that it’s strong enough to keep you inspired—even when it’s difficult. That’s why it’s considered laying the foundation for success. Another way to look at the E is through Emotion because this is the feeling your goal should create.
It might seem like finding the purpose of your goal within your why should be enough to sustain your motivation. And it’s a good start. But every goal, not matter what it encompasses, is going to be really difficult at some point. It’s going to make you question yourself, your commitment, and your capabilities. That’s completely normal. Tapping into a deeper emotional pull can help push you forward during these times. You want to not only understand your purpose, but attaching strong emotions to your goal helps you endure the hard times so you can make it to the end.
A — Alluring
Hopefully, every goal you create is alluring to you in some way. But it’s okay if they’re not. It’s normal to have less than glamorous goals, but luckily, that’s not what we mean here. When we say alluring goals, we’re talking about a level of irresistibility.
No matter what your focus is, reaching your goals will be hard. They will make you work. And while emotion is important in terms of motivation, you need to have something that excites you. Something that really makes you want to go after it. This helps pull you towards your goal, so make sure you find aspects to build inside your action steps and celebrations that are exciting, enticing, and engaging.
R — Relevant
This might seem like a no-brainer. Obviously your goal will always be relevant to your life in some way, but we want you to go a little deeper in this step. Wanting to learn how to speak Spanish just because you’ve always wanted to is a fine goal. But if you can make it relevant to your life in a way that truly impacts you, you’ll find it easier to tap into the purpose and emotion you might need to carry you all the way through.
Think about why you’re setting the goal and how it will improve your life when you achieve it. Feeling good about leveling up your skills is fantastic. Knowing you can plan a trip abroad at the end might be a little more motivating. Even if a trip isn’t in the card, perhaps knowing someone in your life who speaks Spanish that you can now communicate with can be the relevance.
You can think about challenges you want to overcome and how the goal will do that. Maybe it ties into your life purpose or a core value. It might be a bucket list item or turning a dream into a reality. The stronger you can connect your goal with something relevant and impactful to your life today, the more motivation you’ll discover as you pursue it.
T — Truth
The final aspect of giving your SMART goals HEART is truth. That means being honest with yourself—brutally honest. Who are you really setting this goal for? Is it your boss? Your spouse? Do you want to impress the neighbors or catch someone’s eye. It’s okay if it is, but being brutally honest with that truth will help you shape your goals in a far more realistic mindset.
When you aren’t honest with yourself, you can become lost in your goal. Those tough times that we’re trying to get ahead of can drag you down and keep you there. When you’re honest with yourself, you can reevaluate your goal and shape it to meet more of your true intentions which makes it much more likely that you’ll be able to succeed. Be true to yourself, and there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.
Conclusion
Setting goals is more than simply stating an outcome you want to work towards. When you take the time to analyze your motivations and plan your action steps, you can build bigger and better goals, where you’re far more likely to succeed. Making sure your goals start in the foundation of why, are SMART, and have HEART, makes them more than simple goals. It makes them part of your lifestyle, where you develop healthy habits that create more momentum as you strive to constantly and consistently improve, leading to a truly Limitless life.
If you want to learn more about how HEART helps your goals, watch this video:
