Why I’m Abandoning SMART Goals in 2023
My attempt to beat inaction in 2024, thanks to Alex Hormozi
I’m a big fan of goal planning. When I say “big fan”, I mean:
- Creating a theme for my goals every year and itemizing my action plan
- Writing one journal every year
- Updating my habit trackers
- Tracking my annual net worth and cash flow statements
- Creating my vision board
It’s all cute and dandy, but they did not help me reach my goals this year.
Quite the opposite. I was nowhere near my big, hairy, audacious goal. Far from it!
That’s why, in 2024, I’m going to pivot. Instead of sticking to SMART goals, I’ll adapt a scientific goal-setting process that I’ve picked up from Alex Hormozi.
Why Creating SMART Goals Is Not Enough
The problem with SMART goals is that they focus on RESULTS.
“I want to earn $$ amount of income every month”
“I want to travel to my dream destination when I’m XX years old”
“I want to lose XX kg and maintain a sustainable healthy lifestyle”
And when these results do not come, we get discouraged. We question whether the time and the effort we spent were even worth it.
Are results the end-all-be-all?
Is it all about the destination, or is it about the journey?
How The Manifestation Process Works
Thoughts → Feelings → Actions
THOUGHTS:
When we do not see results, our brain tries to make sense of it. Often, the brain comes up with these made-up stories of how we don’t feel good enough. That we suck, and we’re just fools wasting our time.
FEELINGS:
Our inner self-critic creates the perfect breeding space for doubt and fear. You’re now “not in the mood” to take action because these crippling feelings are in the way.
ACTIONS:
Real talk. You know what to do — you just choose not to do it.
We procrastinate because of fear, doubt, overwhelm, anxiety — whatever names you describe to your feelings.
But what if we continue to act despite doubt and fear?
I was watching Alex Hormozi’s first episode of his Advice for Hard Days series. One caller asked, “how do I maintain my composure and kinda stay strong? ’Cause it’s a tough period”.
His answer?
Do not judge yourself on how you feel. Judge yourself by what you do despite how you feel.
That resonated with me.
Instead of anchoring my goals on results, which I may or may not achieve, I should re-focus my goals on the actions required to get me to my desired results.
This way, it doesn’t matter if I win or lose. I measure my success based on my hard work, not on the outcome.
Four WH-Questions For Your Big Hairy Audacious Goals
I’m not saying you forget your SMART goals. No.
I’m saying you start with a SMART goal and then operationalize it.
Let’s use this example:
I want to double my annual net income in 2024 relative to the previous year.
Let’s break our SMART goal down by answering the following WH-questions:
- What problem are we solving?
Get to work with 2–3 premium clients consistently
- What’s our hypothesis?
If I promote more, people will know about my services, and I’ll attract premium clients. If I upskill, I can provide more value to my clients. Then, I can increase my rates.
- What are we going to do?
Set the timer for 2 hours on weekdays to promote my services through cold outreach and content marketing. Plus, set 2 hours everyday for upskilling activities.
- What do we think is going to happen?
If I do these, I can generate consistent leads in my pipeline. My income will be sustainable and may increase.
Measure Your Results
Next, you’ll be experimenting.
Did you do what you said you would do? Measure the inputs, such as the hours spent, the applications sent, the number of content posts made, etc.
Did it happen? Measure the outputs, such as number of new leads per month, email inquiries received, discovery calls booked, etc.
Let’s say you showed up to your commitments, but it still didn’t happen. Now what?
You change your hypothesis and tweak the inputs because working on your goals is a trial-and-error process.
You don’t skip the process. You go through it.
Take Back Your Power
I know how difficult it must be to let go of the results.
But you have to. WE have to.
We just have to wait and see how our efforts will unfold.
But no matter what the result is, whether you win or lose, the important thing is you put in the work.
You showed up.
You committed.
You did what was required.
And for that, you should be proud of yourself.
I’m going to be honest. I haven’t tried this new goal-setting strategy yet — but that’s what makes it exciting. Who knows what will happen?
We shall see. But for now,
To be continued…
