Where You Should Start First
If you don’t know what a SMART Goal is, it is an acronym that stands for:
- S – Specific
- M – Measurable
- A – Attainable
- R – Relevant
- T – Time-bound
Someone can create a SMART goal, but that doesn’t mean they stick with it. It’s best to figure out the why first for a SMART goal because when something comes up and makes finishing it more difficult, someone is more likely to abandon it. This person will be okay with this decision because it wasn’t that important. I’m not too fond of SMART goals because it starts at the wrong place for most people.
Starting with why first will give someone that passion and grit to keep on their goals because they know it will help them become the person they want to be. I do financial planning and business consulting because I want to give others more control over their lives. This is important because I would travel to Mexico as a kid and see the lack of opportunities in my dad’s small town, which can slow someone’s development.
How To Find Your Why
I also saw how a lack of opportunities could cause a lot of stress and dysfunction in your environment, community, and family. So I want to change that for the people I interact with, and I can see how my life can be better off for choosing the plan I’m following.
To get to this level of understanding, it’s best to ask five why questions, and the framework goes something like this.
- I want to do financial planning and business consulting. Why?
- Because I want to help, people make better decisions with their money and business. Why?
- Because being poor with your money and business can cause a lot of stress. Why is this important?
- Because growing up, money could be emotionally stressful, and I feel that business is the best path to control your life. Why is this important to fix?
- Because we shouldn’t live stressful lives since life is short, this will make the world a better place for me, my family, and my community, and I’m good at this and passionate about it.
Once you understand yourself, you can start being who you want to be and won’t get distracted from becoming that person. And in this world, it is effortless to get distracted with imposter syndrome, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, and lack of understanding of how things work.
You will always have to answer questions about yourself, and the answers can change depending on the new information provided. I wanted to get a stable job at the federal government ten years ago, but I only lasted eight months at the Pentagon after I discovered that this would not give me control over my life. With interactions with friends, I found out I should do financial planning, and I could handle the instability of being an entrepreneur and keep going when times got tough because of my skills and why.
The Path Towards Your Why
Then, to make things more successful, I needed to strengthen my strategies to help me become who I want to become. I did this by reading, listening to podcasts, continuing my education, attending conferences, meeting folks, and getting certifications.
As Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get hit in the face, and on average, every 90 days, something is going to go wrong in your life, either financially, emotionally, socially, or physically. And if you have the right tactics to deal with these setbacks, then those problems go from long-term to five-minute problems. And this is the outcome you want with the tactics you use.
Once you have the why and the how down, you can develop your SMART goal. This will make it much more effective and increase the likelihood of finishing the time-bound part. This is the plan to help you become the person you want to become. And the plan can change, so be flexible with this part but be stubborn with the outcome you want.
What Is It All For?
Ambition can be one of the hardest things to contain if you have the right why. You will spend more time on the plan and give more effort, and then you will become an A-level player in this domain. And you have to realize that A-players are 32 times more effective than B-players. So it’s best to find your niche and what you want to be the best at, then reach the outer limits of your human potential. Life is valuable because it is short, so you might as well fill it up with things that make you go and be the best person possible. If we all did this, the world would be a better place.
Also, realize that the world is an anvil, and you’re the hammer. If you try to force things against the world, you’re going to break yourself, but if you know how to use your skills with the world, you can create an extraordinary life. This journey starts with discovering and understanding your why.
