Finding Freedom in INTRApersonal Competition

In last week's post, I discussed the importance of focusing primarily on intrapersonal competition (competing against yourself) rather than interpersonal competition (competing against others) in goal setting.  This is an important aspect of setting SMARTIES Goals.  Today, I share my story that influenced me to change my own viewpoint of competition.

The Satisfaction of Goal Achievement

Last weekend, I traveled to Jackson, Mississippi to run the Mississippi Blues Marathon as part of my SMARTIES Goal.  It was the first of four marathons I plan to run this year in my quest to qualify for the elite Boston Marathon.

I am pleased to report that I met my goal of running under 3 hours and 30 minutes.  I also broke my March 1st goal of running under 3 hours and 20 minutes.  My time for the race was 3:18.00.

Combatting "Insanity": My 2014 New Year's Resolution

In last week's post, I taught the principles of SMARTIES Goals.  As promised, this week, I will share with you my 2014 New Year’s Resolution, which is to qualify for the elite Boston Marathon, and describe it as a SMARTIES Goal.

I must confess to cheating a bit in that I actually started working on this goal three years ago.  Fortunately, this kind of cheating is encouraged!  You don’t have to wait for the New Year to set goals—especially SMARTIES Goals.  Furthermore, goals that are challenging and important sometimes take several tries before you accomplish them.

Resolutions that Stick: The SMARTIES Principle

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As the New Year dawns, it is tradition to set goals to better yourself.  The perennial question, however, is: How do I make New Years’ Resolutions that actually last past January 2nd?

There are two basic reasons New Years Resolutions flop.  The first arises from setting too many goals.  The second occurs from a failure to set SMART Goals.  SMART, in this context, is an acronym.  It stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.  The SMART model is an excellent method for goal setting, but there is more, and that is why I encourage self-action leaders to include four additional guidelines to their goal setting.  These additional recommendations turn SMART goals into SMARTIES Goals, as follows:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable and Accountable

Relevant

Time-bound

In competition primarily with yourself

Engaging

Sane