Be S.M.A.R.T. with Your Goals & Introducing The Downward Arrow Technique
In my line of work I see a lot of struggle around motivation in the ability to reach goals. While difficulties with motivation can vary in origin including depression, anxiety, or Attention Deficit Disorder, a common factor I see come up across the board that indefinitely sets one up for epic motivation fail is what I call the “Goal Making Error Trio”. Motivation to accomplish a goal depletes when: 1) a goal is too big, 2) a goal is dauntingly being viewed with all the associated goals in one sitting, or 3) a goal is too vague.
When a goal is too big - Let’s say you’ve decided to improve your physical health and in wanting to attempt something new in your life you have identified the goal of running a marathon. You don’t have very much running experience, you’ve never actually really enjoyed running, and thus feel this goal would be epic in providing you with a sense of accomplishment and true grit. One thing is for certain, this goal is truly epic...and so will be the failure. Weeks go by, and your new pair of running shoes is still marinating in the shoebox they came in. You ask yourself, “what’s wrong with me”, “why can’t I just get out there and make it happen?” You then go into that loop of negative self-talk putting yourself down, sitting on the couch instead and perpetuating the cycle of low motivation. The problem is simple. Running 26.2 miles is a VERY daunting, VERY big task. It’s just too big of a goal to start off with. When something feels too insurmountable, you will lose all motivation to even start climbing it in the first place. With any life goals, whether big or small, you want to set yourself up for success. Don’t make it more difficult on yourself than necessary. Your motivation is the wheel, get the momentum going by having a solid platform of starting somewhere that meets you where you are realistically at. So instead of the 26.2 miles goal, modify that goal a bit to make it 5 miles. Feel that motivation coming out from hiding underneath it’s rock now?
The second goal making error is when one finds themselves with no motivation because they are viewing their ultimate goal and preceding goals leading up to it all in one daunting sitting. Take for example someone wanting to pursue their Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. To accomplish this, one must (I recommend in this order) -
Enroll in undergraduate college, get yourself into a research lab at said college, have a breakdown because you just realized you don’t know what your research lab is referring to when they use the word “abstract”, obtain an academic advisor, volunteer for at least two places that will provide you with some kind of exposure in the clinical psychology population, have a break down because you’re now poor from volunteering, begin studying for the graduate record examination (GRE), research graduate schools to begin applying to, begin writing application essays, take the GRE (maybe a few times if needed), have another breakdown because the application process is excruciating, send out those grad school applications, get accepted and during the 4 years there attend class, apply and interview for clinical rotation programs each year, take further exams to progress each year, join a research lab by 2nd year, make it your mission to get published from the research you are involved in (being published sets you higher above the rest), obtain your Masters degree (it basically just appears at the end of 3rd year), begin working on your dissertation, propose said dissertation to your committee, relentlessly dissertate, start looking into internship programs for your 5th year of the graduate program (cast a huge net, I recommend applying to 20 sites and APA accredited sites highly recommended), write internship essays and cover letters for each site. Interview at these sites, have a breakdown because you’re poor again from flying to all the sites to interview and by the way out of the 20 sites, you only received 6 interview offers (which is normal, I promise!). Have insomnia the night of “National Match Day”, check your email in the morning to see if you matched, you did (because you’re awesome), move away and start your incredible 1-year internship while finishing up your dissertation, DEFEND THE DISSERTATION, be addressed as “Doctor” for the first time as you smile ear to ear. When internship year comes to a close decide whether to take another training year (called “Post-doctoral training) at a new site or start applying for jobs, start at the new site or job, begin studying for the license exam (buy the workbooks), take it, pass, SURPRISE! there’s another exam to take now!!, easily pass this one. Boom! Now you’re a clinical psychologist.
If you even got through reading that paragraph, I’m impressed. See how daunting it is stepping back and seeing ALL that is entailed to achieve that one goal of becoming a psychologist? When you view a goal in it’s entirety that way, it becomes unbearably overwhelming just to look at and thus, motivation to start is completely depleted. Similar to when you look at the entire garage of what needs to be sorted and cleaned out, you promptly go right back into the kitchen and do something else instead, “nope, I can’t even”. It looks too overwhelming. Start at the first step and stay focused on that step. Of course, strategically hold the next anticipated step in having the grand plan in your mind’s eye, but looking up at what’s ahead of you on that uphill climb the whole time during your journey is not serving you. It’s only going to negatively impact your motivation to continue or let alone start tackling that goal.
The third error that commonly hurts motivation is when a goal is too vague. Let us go back to the first Error Trio example - wanting to improve your physical health is your goal and to accomplish this, your plan is to work out more. Excellent. ...Wait, but why are you on the couch still? In order to succeed, one must carry with them a specific plan they have created for themselves which then provides the motivating structure needed to proceed with each step. Without any of this, without structure, our goals are unclear and motivation is lost.
How then can one put this all together in order to succeed in your various life goals? This is where the S.M.A.R.T. acronym comes into play. First seen in the November 1981 issue of Management Review, George T. Doran introduced a technique to aid in goal achievement. It’s simple, yet can be applied to virtually any life domain an individual would like to improve upon. The concept emphasizes that in order for a goal to have a higher likelihood of being achieved, there are a number of factors pertaining to that goal that need to be considered - The identified goal must have a very specific plan in order to accomplish that goal, it must have a measurable aspect to it, the plan needs to be realistically attainable for yourself, the plan of accomplishing your goal needs to be relevant, and multiple timeframes need to be involved in this process to track and evaluate your progress to then determine what needs to be modified going forward. So, the goal of WANTING TO LOSE WEIGHT:
S - SPECIFIC: the specific plan to lose weight is to exercise more and eat healthier
M - MEASURABLE: I will be able to measurably monitor this plan as I go, by identifying that I will exercise at the gym three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays right after work, for 45 minutes, and eat clean 85% of the week.
A - ATTAINABLE: you want your goal to be realistic for yourself. Yes, 3 times a week at the gym may seem doable as does allowing yourself 15% of “fun” meals. Otherwise, modify the specific plan if it seems too daunting! Remember, set yourself up for success, you can always amp it up later.
R - RELEVANT: is your specific plan of working out more and eating healthy relevant in reaching your goal of losing weight? Yes. (an example of a plan NOT relevantly lining up to that goal would be learning how to bake cakes).
T - TIME ORIENTED: give yourself a period of time of executing this plan. I like to give it 3 weeks. Once this deadline has been met, check in and evaluate your progress. Depending on how well you have executed the plan, keep it as is or modify it to what makes sense to you: Three weeks of executing this plan was a success, now bump it up to 4 times at the gym per week. Or, you just couldn't get out to the gym that often, scale down to going just 2 times a week.
The health and fitness pros from Thrivestry.com took it a step even further. Jeremy Jones and Genevieve Gee addressed this concept in goal setting in one of their recent podcasts https://youtu.be/EqkKixQmmno, about the importance of identifying the “why” behind the goal you are setting for yourself. As they asserted, being able to link the goal with a bigger purpose for yourself sets you up for success. (I recommend going in the direction of life values). Unbeknownst to them, this is actually a modified version to the S.M.A.R.T. acronym, sometimes referred wittingly as “S.M.A.R.T.Y.” The Y stands for “why” (...see what they did there…) and serves as the actual motivator for why you have made this a goal for yourself. Getting below the surface of the actual reason behind why you want to obtain a goal makes it a lot more meaningful thus a lot more likely to stay motivated in following through with that goal.
Going back to the goal of wanting to work out more - A great way to identify the “why” behind what it is you want to accomplish, is using a cognitive therapy technique originally introduced by David Burns called the Downward Arrow Technique. I have modified this technique in it’s application to uniquely fit the purpose of goal setting. In this case:
So your goal is to work out more. Why do you want to work out more?
“Because I want to lose weight”
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Why do you want to lose weight, what would that mean to you?
“Then I would be in better physical shape”
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Why do you want to be in better physical shape, what would that mean to you?
“My health is important to me, I want to be around for others, and it would mean I worked hard internally to achieve something”
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Why is it important to meet that goal for yourself, what would that mean to you?
“Because then I just proved to myself that I could actually accomplish something in my life, normally I feel like I’m not good enough”
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And if you prove to yourself that you could accomplish something, what would that mean to you?
“It would mean that I am good enough, that I am worth it.”
This. Right. Here. It can’t go much deeper than that last response. The Downward Arrow Technique helps explore what’s below the surface of a thought or reason for doing something and this example just unlocked a very important value (or core belief). By identifying the “why”, a deeper purpose, and what it means to you to be able to accomplish that goal will enhance your motivation far more because it means something to you. You have identified the value of wanting to feel good enough for yourself. Not for others, for you. You have just made the goal be about something far deeper than just wanting to work out to lose weight or simply to “look good to others”. This can be an extremely powerful tool in keeping your motivation intact through any goal you set for yourself. Identify the “why” and see what comes up as you go beneath the surface.
Whether your goal is to lose weight, become Batman, clean the garage, or any other common goal, the course of action is the same. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, be SMART about it, link the reason for your goal with a deeper purpose, and how do you eat an elephant? (why someone would want to do that is beyond me), eat one bite at a time. Achievement breeds more motivation, so, while small steps at times can seem impatiently daunting relative to your bigger picture goal, it is a necessary and progressive step nonetheless. Stay focused, be present, and celebrate each step along the way. The final destination is the identified goal, the solid platform is the “why”, the wheel is the motivation, and the compass is the plan of how to get there. While you’re at it, why not enjoy the journey on the way, huh?
~ You’ve got this!