Teacher Stephanie instructed us to jot down at least five of our goals for the next five years. After which, she requested us to evaluate each of our goals if it was ’smart’.

Hold your horses, smart goals? What the heck are they?

And as if she saw right through that big question mark on my face, Teacher Stephanie began explaining about SMART goals:

• Smart goal is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goals.

• Specific. Your goal must be detailed. You must know the Who, What, Where, When, Which and Why of your goal.

• Measurable. Your progress in your goal attainment must be concretely measured. When progress is measured, one stays on track. And as you reach your target dates, the bliss you experience will motivate you to work harder to achieve your goals.

• Attainable. Identify goals important to you. This way you can figure out strategies to achieve them. Plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame. Goals need to stretch you a little so that you will have real commitment to them.

• Realistic. Goals ought to represent an objective you are WILLING and ABLE to do. No, realistic here is not synonymous to easy but rather to ‘doable’. Aim high, but make sure you have the right attitude and skills to reach big goals. Always having small goals is not exactly advisable either as they limit your potential. A realistic goal pushes and stretches the individual, but it does not break him.

• Timely. A goal should be anchored on a time frame—otherwise there is no urgency in accomplishing it.

After learning about smart goals, we evaluated our own goals. Most of us, myself include, found out that our goals had tidbits of the elements composing smart goals but not all of them. And, as what Teacher Stephanie said, “Make the necessary changes to make your goals smart”. I will.