The Goal

I've been working over the last couple weeks on goal setting for work, for my personal goals, and for goals that my wife and I can share together. In the past I was prone to write out goals that I genuinely wanted to hit, but that were far to vague to measure progress. I know many men that write out goals, track them, and achieve them on a very regular basis. I used to be in awe of this fact. To be fair, I still am, but I was presented with a system that has been working for me as I set, track, and achieve what I set out to do. I hope this is helpful.

S.M.A.R.T.

I know this concept has been out for a long time, but what I found I was lacking was two-fold. I work best when I use a set framework for establishing my goals. I also want to focus in on particularly impactful areas of my life so I use target areas.

I will start with a framework. In the past I would just think of the goal in general terms, write it down in the same general terms, and proceed to not hit the target. I needed a framework to guide HOW I set my goals. That's where SMART comes in. I learned this framework early in 2025.

SMART is a simple acronym that has been of great use to me as I have been setting my new goals.

S: Specific - Be specific about what you want to achieve.

M: Measurable - Make sure your goal works with a percentage of completion, or daily tracking of a habit goal. Keep a chart and mark the progress.

A: Acheivable/Audacious - I like to add both options to my goals. If I am only focusing on the achievable then I might not stretch the possibilities and I will play it safe. If I add audacious I am more prone to set a goal that pushes what I believe I am capable of achieving.

R: Relevant - I want to set goals that are relevant to me. I ask if I am the right person to achieve this goal. The goal should fit my current situation, and be in line with the rest of my goals and life's direction.

T: Time-Bound - I need to have a deadline for completion of the goal. This helps drive the measurement of the goal and keep me on track for success in what I have purposed to do.

Now that the framework was established I could work on the second aspect: set the target. In the last year and a half I have been encouraged to plan my goal targets based on four pillars for a Christian man. They are faith, family, fitness, and finance. As you read this you may recognize in yourself pillars where you are strong and some where you are weak. These pillars are best when they are all stout. Think of legs on a table or pillars supporting a building.

In early 2025 I was at the highest weight of my life. It wasn't a crazy number, but on my frame I felt that 200 pounds was fairly significant. I had been "trying" to lose a few pounds, but I just wasn't able to move the number on the scale very much. I love to hike, kayak and climb. Since 2021 climbing has been off the list of activities because of the added weight. I purposed in October to shed 25 pounds by December. I made sure that the goal fit the framework and started to chart the progress.

The goal was specific. It was just a number of pounds I needed to take off. It was measurable. I could divide the loss goal by the number of months. I needed to take off 8.333... pounds per month. It was achievable. I knew I would make some dietary changes to hit the goal, but that I could accomplish the end goal. It was relevant. It fit the vague goals related to improving my overall physical health. It was also time-bound. Very simply it was a goal to achieve over the period of 3 months.

I was able to break that down further to make the 8.333 pounds per month seem more manageable. I needed to lose just over 2 pounds per week. I went to a diet of primarily protein and unprocessed vegetables. I allowed myself 3 cheat meals per week, but stuck with a calorie deficit on those days. I ended up hitting the goal even though it ended after some of our biggest feasts of the year. I simply didn't go back for pie or extra helpings. I did fast for two days because of the Christmas meals, but I ended at 174!

So you might ask "Where does this line up with the idea of "Fellow Warriors?" That is a great question. I'm glad you asked!

This was one of four goals that I set with some men that I meet with weekly. We each set goals related to four pillars which were our targets. We all set faith, family, fitness, and finance goals. We would check each other on alternating weeks to see where we were on the progress. There wasn't shame in the tracking, just the desire to push each other to reach what we had set out to accomplish. I missed the mark on a couple of my goals, and succeeded on a couple. We want to push each other to be better. We want to be iron sharpening iron.

I hope that you have a group, friends, or a spouse that you can set goals with. We need the people in our lives that will step in and keep us honest with ourselves. I would love to see some comments on here about your goals.

Do you use a framework?

Do you struggle to hit your goals?

Do you need some people to hold you accountable?

Are your goals leading you into spiritual, family, physical, and financial health?

I pray they are!