The holiday season is over—it’s now a new year. At the start of each year, we often think of our dreams, wishes, and goals—the life and person we wish to have and be. Setting goals is great for your productivity and future, but that’s if you do it smartly! A cycle of setting goals and not completing them can drop you down into a deep hole of negativity.

To protect our motivation, energy, and happiness, let’s set goals for ourselves that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

A PATH TO YOUR DREAMS

Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant (though this is sometimes replaced with “realistic”), and time-bound (or “timely”) creates the word SMART. I learned about this last year from my 9th grade career teacher, and it's been really helpful. It is essentially “rules” that help you set goals:

Your goals should be specific. This is the difference between saying “I want to study more” and “I want to study at least 1 hour each day during this month.”

They should also be measurable, so you can track how close or behind you are to achieving them. If one of your goals is to study more, you should be able to track how long and often you study.

Any goal you set must be achievable. If it’s unrealistic, you’re only walking towards disappointment. Aiming too high and landing nowhere near where you wanted to will only dishearten you. Ask yourself, “Is this possible for me to achieve if I work hard enough?”

Along with the above three, make sure your goals are also relevant to you. If an artist’s eye is more on their art, it might be best for them to set a goal in that area.

Finally, your goals should be time-bound. Have a planned time (such as a day, month, or year) by which you should complete your goals. For example: “I want to have a habit of studying math at least 1 hour a day by the end of my school’s spring semester.”

Think about what you want to achieve this year. One of my goals this year is to become an intermediate guitarist. Dream big and high, yet realistically! Work hard with dedication to achieve what you long for. And when you make goals, make smart (or SMART) goals. It’ll keep you on a path that will lead you to your dreams.

I wish you a happy 2023!

Sincerely, Wordynora.