Goal-setting isn't enough, this is how to smash them

From my pre-teen years, I have always set goals.

It was a cool, grown-up thing to do. I was proud of my habit, but it didn’t take long before “little me“ realised it had a few flaws.

I kept setting goals and barely achieving any.

This continued for over 5 years. This repeated barrage of back-to-back failures took a devilish bite out of my self-confidence and left me under the dark clouds of depression — not the ideal place for a kid.

So, like every logical person, I became google’s latest active user.

After a half-a-decade-long search, I present to you my current goal-setting and goal-smashing guide.

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Now you might wonder, “why is Francis sending me a goal-setting guide… in February?”

Good question. I refused to send you one earlier because I’m sure everyone on your timeline was blasting you with “how to set goals“ content.

At the time of writing this, we are 15% into 2023. My primary aim isn’t exactly to teach you how to set goals (but I will). I’m here to remind you to stay in the game.

It’s not too late to make 2023 the glorious one you wished it to be. Let’s keep going, player!

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Goals are the key to success — but why?

Goal-setting is cliche. But like all cliches, they are true — which explains why they became a cliche in the first place!

Let’s see goals in action:

Between 1979 - 1989, researchers at Harvard University carried out a decade-long, in-house extensive research on goal-setting.

They asked their then MBA (Master of Business Administration) graduates if they had made clear written goals for their future, as well as plans to achieve them.

It turns out that only 3% had written & planned goals. 13% had goals which were unwritten and unplanned. And 84% had none.

84%!

The madness doesn’t end there. The results after a decade passed are hard to ignore. 10 years after graduation, the 3% — or as Twitter gurus would say: the 1% — had a net worth higher than the entire 97% COMBINED. 

Specifically, the 3% earned 10 times what the 97% earned.

Hmm, we are getting somewhere.

In a life filled with constant, unclear variables, goals do a fantastic job of keeping us organized and focused on our purpose.

However, setting a goal alone isn’t a recipe for success. Winners and losers have the same plans, after all.

That said, here is the 6-step goal-setting and goal-smashing framework:

I used a lot of I’s in this one, so it might not feel so personal. But I truly meant to use myself as a bridge for you to step on (Ouch).

Step 1: Discover what you want

We don’t know what we want.

My dream was to be an engineer in middle school. A few years later, I found myself in the race for a computer science degree. Now, I’m a writer. And I’ll probably be a stripper tomorrow.

However, I know exactly what I do not want: having no options.

What do you not want?

Regardless of your answer, here is your game plan:

• Analyse where you are now (so you appreciate your efforts so far)

• Identify where you want to go (so you know what you need to do)

• Illuminate your ‘Why’ (so you have a solid reason to for doing this)

The most important step to getting what you want is to discover what you don’t want and then walk backwards from there.

Step 2: Set your S.M.A.R.T. goal

In 1981, George T. Doran, Arthur Miller and James Cunningham introduced the concept of S.M.A.R.T. goals in an article. The intention behind this now-famous framework was to help you get clear on what your goals are and why it is important.

“I want to make money“ is a vague statement. Let’s be S.M.A.R.T. about it:

1. How much money do you want? (S — Specific)

2. Can you spell it out in numbers? (M — Measurable)

3. Can you achieve the goal with your current skills? (A — Attainable)

4. Is this important for your long-term success? (R — Relevant)

5. When exactly do you want to achieve the goal? (T — Time-bound)

A SMARTer statement looks like this:

“I want to make $600,000 in profit before 31st December”

That ticks S, M and T. Figuring out if this is relevant (R) is subjective to the goal-setter.

Now, here is the trickiest one: A - Attainable.

I don’t know about you, but I’m quite ambitious — in fact, I’m too ambitious. As a kid, I was very familiar with setting goals that were beyond my capabilities. And at first, it seemed like a good thing.

I always wanted to challenge myself. After all, Eliza Dushku said the famous words “Go big or go home“.

I didn’t want to go home. Did you? Of course not.

I started thinking differently when I realised this wasn’t working. I wasn’t achieving my goals. Instead, I was getting used to being a loser. It wasn’t long before I realised I had unknowingly signed up for depression.

From my neuroscience research, let me explain how this works:

Our brain naturally repels change. It behaves this way because to function effectively; it has to consume 20% of our energy — which is a lot. So, any goals which require massive behaviour change will face resistance (on default).

When we set goals, we create desires that are disconnected from reality. And whenever we desire things we don’t have, we wire our brain’s nervous system to produce negative emotions.

Lofty goals require us to develop new abilities, some of which are beyond current capabilities. As we develop these competencies, we are likely to experience failures, which then become de-motivational to us.

To recap, we release negative emotions when we:

1. desire things which we don’t have

2. set lofty goals — that require a new level of competency

The solution is simple, we’ll do the reverse. I’m going to show how you can overturn no. 1 in Step 4. Keep reading to get to it.

As for no. 2, the solution is simple. We are going to access our current level of competency and try to do just 1% more.

Example: If your goal is to make $100,000 this year, and you haven’t made $1000 in a month yet, it’s time to rethink.

Focus on making tiny progress. If you made $100 last week, your goal this week should be to make $150. Tiny improvement will require a tiny shift in your competency (and avoid de-motivating you).

Goals are for challenging us, not breaking us.

After you’ve set a goal, it’s time to pick one in multiple categories. Typically, I like to aim for these 4:

• Health (so I’m jacked.)

• Wealth (so I have more options.)

• Education (so I can give you better content.)

• Relationship (so I can get finally get laid. Lol.)

In summary, set a goal in each category and then get clear on its importance (by identifying the WHAT, WHY and HOW via S.M.A.R.T.).

Next, we tweak it even more.

Step 3: Break it down

It’s time to deconstruct your goal further.

This will make it easier to track (we’ll get into how to do this in a second), because:

• The timeframe is shorter. This will keep you on your toes even more.

• If you fail a quarterly goal, it’ll give you lots of feedback on what to improve on

Break down your year’s goal into quarterly goals (or every 90 days).

Step 4: Ignore the goal and create daily processes

The separator between both titles is their relationships with their processes. One has a solid process, the other doesn’t. Setting a goal is the first act. Doing it is the next.

In Step 2, I shared how our body reacts negatively when we desire things we don’t have. I’m sure you can relate to seeing that dude/chic on Instagram who had everything, and it sucked. It made you judge yourself.

The funny thing is, when we get that thing we once lacked, we desire something else. Our wants are insatiable. If we keep moving from desire to desire, we will be miserable.

We must get our fulfilment from a different source. That alternative source is the process, and not the output.

For example, one of my goals this year is to build a new Twitter account to 6 figures. I can’t make 100,000+ follow me. It’s out of my control.

But, I can:

1. Create a solid profile

2. Create a solid brand and content strategy

3. Do market research to see what is needed, but underserved.

4. Write 2-3 threads per week

5. Engage with other related creators, etc

This I can control. And this I will do. Staring at a goal doesn’t get it achieved.

Set a goal, make it small, pull out the middle finger to the goal and then take action every day to get closer to it.

Your goal is a guide, not a god.

Step 5: Track & Adjust

It’s easy to lose motivation when you don’t know how well you are performing.

Imagine playing a game for 5 days and you’re not sure if you even levelled up. It’s awful. That’s why you need to track your progress.

Pick a day in the week when you can track your progress for the week and then set goals for the next week.

I like to think Sunday is the last day of the week, so that’s my planning day. I like to ask myself these questions to know what my next steps are:

What goals did I complete this week?

Where did I come short this week?

What gave me the most energy?

What made me feel like shit?

Did I live this week like I would like to live forever?

If I had died this week, would I have felt fulfilled in the afterlife?

What can I do next week to get closer to my goal?

Step 6: Seek Accountability

The Pygmalion effect is a psychological phenomenon in which our performance improves based on the level of expectation cast on us.

This is where an accountability partner comes in.

Picking your friend for this is a bad idea. Pick someone you respect — whose expectations you care deeply about.

If you’re hardcore, I’ll recommend public accountability. Share your plans in public. You will never sleep peacefully at night until that thing is complete.

This is uncomfortable, and it should be to be effective. I’m sure you know the best things happen on unfavourable turf. Get used to it.

Accountability is a productive necessity.

The 6 steps you need to set and smash your goals in 2023:

1. Discover what you want

2. Set your S.M.A.R.T. goal

3. Break your goals down

4. Ignore your goals and focus on daily processes

5. Track and Adjust

6. Seek Accountability

I hope you smash your goals this year! See you next week.