Blueroomcare
Achieving SMART goals doesn’t come from motivation alone; it comes from structure, clarity, and a system that works even when life gets busy. Let’s face it: you’ve made goals in the past. Perhaps it was on New Year’s Day, with champagne and the promise of a clean slate. Perhaps it was following a bad day at the office and a determination that things would change around there. You’ve put them on paper and felt the thrill of possibility, and then. Well, things got in the way.
Sometimes it feels like we put those goals on the shelf and forgot them, and other times it’s almost as though we just plain forgot we made them in the first place.
Goal-crushing expert and motivational speaker Hal Elrod has devised a different approach altogether: a strategy specifically designed for people with busy schedules to be able to achieve all they’ve set to achieve.
Here’s the truth that no one wants to hear: Your goals didn’t suck because you aren’t ambitious enough. Your goals sucked because they were dreams disguised as plans.
But what if I told you there’s a framework so simple, so unsexy, so devastatingly practical that it actually works? Enter SMART goals; the method that sounds like some corporate training seminar but may just be the difference between another year of “I’ll start Monday” and actually being an Achiever that you know you can be.
Why Your Beautiful Goals Keep Dying
Before we dive into what makes SMART goals work, let’s talk about why your previous goals didn’t. Picture this: “I want to be healthier this year.” Beautiful sentiment. Completely useless as a goal.
Or how about: “I’m going to save more money.” Again, lovely idea. Zero chance of success.
These are not goals; these are wishes whispered into the void. They’re like saying, “I want my life to be better.” It doesn’t explain what better looks like, how you will get there, or when you’ll know you’ve arrived. And it’s exactly for that reason, three months later, you go back to square one and start musing, “Why can’t I seem to stick to anything?”
The painful reality? Vague goals give you vague results. When everything is a priority, nothing is. When your goal could mean anything, it ends up meaning nothing.
What Makes SMART Goals Really SMART
SMART goals aren’t thrilling. They just aren’t going to make you feel that rush of dopamine associated with a declaration that you are going to “change your whole life.” You know what they will give you? Results.
It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It takes this fuzzy dream framework and simply turns them into concrete plans. It is like the difference between hoping and doing.
Specific: Get Uncomfortable With Details
“I want to be healthier” becomes “I will exercise for 30 minutes, four times per week.” See the difference? One is a feeling; the other is a plan.
Being specific forces you to confront what you actually want. Not what sounds good at dinner parties, not what you think you should want, but what you genuinely want enough to work for. This is where most people get uncomfortable because specificity requires honesty.
What do you really want? Not the Instagram version. The real version. The one that makes your heart beat a little faster when you imagine it coming true.
Measurable: If You Can’t Track It, You Can’t Achieve It
This is where SMART goals set the goal achievers apart from the dreamers: with measurement. Because doing better doesn’t qualify, ‘Saving ₦50,000 by June’ certainly does.
Measurable goals will provide you information. And information will not deceive you. It won’t let you fool yourself into thinking that you’re moving when you’re actually standing still. It won’t accept “I’m doing the best I can” in place of progress.
That is scary because it is accountability that has to do with numbers. But that is also why it is so clear when it is accomplished. You know, when you reach that number, no one can ever claim that it is not accomplished. Not that little voice in your head that says you are no good.
Achievable: Dream Big, Start Real
There is a thin line between ambitious and delusional, and you have to make sure your aims are straddling it nicely. A reachable goal pushes you hard without snapping you. It puts you out of your comfort zone without leaving you hopeless.
If you aren’t currently exercising, “run a marathon in three months” simply isn’t possible; rather, it’s a guarantee that you’ll both fail and get injured. But “finish a 5K in six months” could be just the thing, both challenging you just right and showing you what you are capable of.
Here’s the trick that achievers know: small wins lead to big wins, and small wins help build the confidence for bigger wins. You don’t have to change your whole life by February. All you have to do is prove to yourself that you can. That you can set a goal and reach it.
Relevent: Does This Goal Serve My Life?
And the question that pierces through the racket: Does this goal truly matter to YOU, or are YOU trying someone else’s idea of success?
Perhaps everyone should be telling you that you should want a promotion, but instead you should be looking for a good balance between work and play. Perhaps your family wants you to tuck away money for a down payment on a house. But a happier investment would be in your own emotional health.
Relevant goals are in line with your values and not your Instagram look. They are for the life that you are actually working to create.
Question to ask: “Will achieving this goal really make my life better? Or will I now have something else to be empty and disappointed with?”
Time-Bound Deadlines Turn Dreams into Plans
‘Someday’ is where goals go to die. ‘By March 31st’ is where goals go to live.
There is power in having a deadline. It is a catalyst that causes you to begin now, not when you are ready (newsflash: you’ll never be ready). It turns your goal from a fixed “should” into a “must” that you need to fulfill in the here and now.
But the thing with deadlines is that it has to be tight enough to have some kind of believability but loose enough to give you some momentum. Saving ₦100,000 in six months is doable. Six weeks will probably be stressful. Six years; well, you will have probably forgotten what you are trying to accomplish by next Tuesday.
The Boring Magic of SMART Goals in Action
Let’s take a real example. “I want to put my mental health first this year” is a great goal. This is what it looks like broken down as a SMART goal:
“I will go for therapy two times a month for six months and work on journaling for 10 minutes daily before sleeping and record it in a habits journaling application.”
Specific? You know exactly what you are doing. Measurable? You have the capacity to track the number of sessions and journal entries. Achievable? Two sessions a month in therapy and 10 minutes of journaling are achievable. Relevant? Improving mental health is a priority you have already listed. Time-bound? A span of six months provides a clear target for assessing the progress you are making.
Now, your vague desire is suddenly turned into a plan. Plans, and not wishes, have the power to change your life.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
You’re reading this because deep down, some part of you is tired of writing goals that seem to vanish like mist in sunlight. You are so tired of riding that high, putting in the work, and then just abandoning it altogether.
Here’s what I want you to understand: you’re not failing because you don’t have willpower or discipline or whatever other harsh label you’ve been assigning to yourself: you’re failing because you’ve been trying to accomplish impossible goals.
This is why SMART goals are so successful: They eliminate the mystery of achievement. They turn success into a series of satisfying tasks rather than something that’s a quality you have or lack. They turn you into an achiever by method, not by magic.
How To Set Achievable Goals
The goal-setting framework is straightforward. That is until it comes to implementation: You prove to yourself what you are made of there.
Here’s a challenge for you: Choose a goal. Not five goals. Not a whole transformation of your life. One goal. One goal that, if you accomplished, would actually make a positive difference in your life.
Now, run it through the SMART framework:
- Make it Specific enough that a stranger could understand exactly what you’re trying to do
- Make it Measurable so you’ll know without question when you’ve succeeded
- Make it Achievable given your current circumstances and resources
- Make sure it’s Relevant to the life you’re actually trying to build
- Give it a Time-bound deadline that creates urgency without creating panic
Write it down. Share it with someone who will hold you accountable. Put it somewhere you’ll see it every single day.
Because here’s the final truth: the only difference between who you are now and who you want to become is a series of intentional, specific actions taken consistently over time. SMART goals are boring, yes. But boring works. And working beats wishing every single time.
Your future self is waiting for you to finally become the achiever you’ve always had the potential to be. The question is: are you ready to do the boring, beautiful work of actually getting there?
The answer starts with one SMART goal. What’s yours going to be?
If you’re ready to set SMART goals, and become an achiever, Blueroomcare is here to walk with you. Let’s make 2026 the year when your mental health becomes your greatest strength, allowing you to lead, create, and live with unprecedented clarity.
- Need support? Start your care journey by booking a confidential therapy session and accessing daily journaling and wellness check-ins through the Blueroomcare App.
- Looking for more guidance? Explore our blog for more mental health tips.