I used to be all for SMART goals.
But I found I hardly ever followed through on them.
Why?
Because I was unwilling to make the hard decision up-front.
Let me tell you a story about my own wake-up call.
Counterproductive Goal Setting
Back in 2020, I set what seemed like a simple goal: get better sleep by going to bed 30 minutes earlier. It checked all the SMART goal boxes: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Perfect, right?
Wrong. I kept failing, and here’s why: my calendar was already packed full. It’s not like I had a magical extra 30 minutes hiding somewhere in my day.
Sound familiar?
Let me tell you, I was definitely not going to bed 30 minutes earlier. In fact, I was going to bed later because I felt bad about missing such a simple goal.
I had to face a hard truth: I was spending about 90 minutes every day playing video games during COVID.
The real question wasn’t about finding time – it was about choosing what to give up.
So I asked myself: “Am I willing to play games for 30 minutes less to get 30 minutes more sleep?”
Here’s the thing – just identifying what I needed to give up didn’t instantly solve my problem. But it did something important: it stopped me from sabotaging myself. I finally understood why I kept hitting a wall.
Takeaways
So what can you learn from my folly?
Before you set your next goal, ask yourself one simple question: “What am I willing to give up to make this happen?”
Because until you decide what to say ‘no’ to, you’ll struggle to say ‘yes’ to your new goal.
Want better results with your goals? Start with what you’ll stop doing first. It really is that simple.
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