What's the point of setting goals if you don't revisit them?

It's mid-November. Where did the goals you set in January end up?

If you're not sure, you're in good company. Most of us set goals with real intention, then get pulled into the day-to-day. The end of the year is a good moment to pause and check in, before the new year starts.

After all, what is the point of setting goals if we never take a moment to check our progress and make sure we are still on the right track?

Setting goals takes effort. Revising them can be even harder, especially when we suspect we are falling short. If the cycle of setting and revising goals leaves you frustrated year after year, there is a framework I keep coming back to.

In my coaching work, goals rarely stall because they were too ambitious. They stall because nobody checks them, because priorities shifted along the way, or because the goal was never tied to something that matters to the person who set it.

SMART goals

SMART is a structured way of setting goals so that they are:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Relevant

• Time-bound

Run each of your goals through those five checks. The ones that fail are usually the ones that have stalled. Pick your three most important goals and score each one against the five SMART checks this week.

Pick your three most important goals and score each one against the five SMART checks this week.

Download the SMART Goals Worksheet (PDF)

Once your goals have passed the SMART checks, give each one 20 minutes. I use four questions from the GROW model, a simple structure we use in coaching:

• Goal: What did I set out to achieve, and does it still matter to me?

• Reality: Where am I against it, honestly?

• Options: What could close the gap, or what should I stop doing?

• Will: What will I do in the next two weeks, and when?

One more thing. Revisiting a goal doesn't always mean pushing harder. Sometimes the honest answer is that it no longer fits, and letting it go frees up room for the goals that do.

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