Are SMART Goals Really All That Smart? A Better Goal-Setting Approach For Long Term Motivation

For years, a model of goal setting based on the acronym S.M.A.R.T. has been advocated by business management, sports psychology, and the fitness industry. It is commonly emphasized that your goals should be:

• Specific - Clearly define the tasks and assign responsible parties.

• Measurable - Progress should be quantifiable for monitoring and adjustments.

• Achievable - Goals should be challenging yet realistic. While aspiring to break the 100-meter dash record may be a dream, it is not likely to be achieved by most of us.

• Relevant - Determine the purpose and significance behind the goal setting.

• Time-bound - Establish specific deadlines for goal achievement, avoiding vague timelines like "someday".

It is important to mention that there are variations in how the acronym is defined by some individuals. In certain interpretations, the A stands for actionable (is the goal actionable?) and the R for realistic (refer to "achievable" above).

Another updated version of the acronym is SMARTER, where E represents evaluate (assess your goals and monitor for challenges or advancements) and R signifies reward (acknowledge progress and accomplishments).

Several considerations need to be taken into account when deciding whether to utilize this approach.

1. George T. Doran initially introduced this model as a means to maintain employee focus within a corporate setting. However, its effectiveness may not translate to all other contexts.

2. The varying definitions of the letters in the model imply some uncertainty in its application. If the model proves highly successful in one scenario, does that render the others unnecessary?

3. Research indicates that the SMART framework can aid individuals in attaining academic and career objectives, particularly when they regularly discuss their goals with a peer.

4. The impact of SMART on promoting physical activity is inconclusive at best, lacking significant empirical evidence to substantiate its efficacy.

Should We Leave Smart Goals at the Office or Maybe Scrap Them All Together?

   Hochli, Brugger, and Messner in their excellent article, "How Focusing on Superordinate Goals  Motivates Broad, Long-Term Goal Pursuit: A Theoretical Perspective"  may offer a better alternative. There is often a tendency to "throw the baby out with the bath water" when it comes to research, especially in exercise physiology and sports psychology. We approach new theories wholeheartedly and denounce other theories with the religious fervor of the newly converted, and if they don't deliver 100% effective results rather quickly, we move on to the next fad.

Hochli et al propose a different framework but if you look closely, you will see some of the helpful components of the SMART model (under different names) and some additional elements that may make long-term goal-setting and motivation more effective and sustainable.

I highly recommend the article if you want to do a really deep dive into the subject. (click here) For our purposes today, I'd like to keep it on a more introductory level. I will provide some examples and a template to follow to make it all come together at the end but we will still need to start with some basic definitions in order to follow along.

• Hierarchy of Goals - Goals are categorized based on their level of abstraction. The most abstract goals are positioned at the top and are known as superordinate goals. The next level is more detailed and referred to as intermediate goals. The third level is the least abstract and most detailed, known as subordinate goals.

• Superordinate Goal - Consider this goal as a vision of your future self at the highest level. It represents the idealized version of yourself based on your identity. It is the person you aspire to become and embodies the values most significant to you.

• Intermediate Goal - This level sits between the superordinate goal and the subordinate goal in the hierarchy. It is more specific than the superordinate goal while still aligning with it.

• Subordinate Goal - At the base of the goal hierarchy, this level is the most specific and supports both the intermediate and superordinate goals.

Each of these levels are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Having only a superordinate goal means lacking a clear path or strategy to realize a life aligned with your core values. Conversely, solely focusing on intermediate or subordinate goals may lead to questioning the purpose behind your actions at times.

Before delving too deeply into theory, let's examine some practical examples of how this concept can be applied. We can adapt a chart from the article as a model.

•  In our example above, the idealized future version of ourselves is a healthy person who has a degree. It is important to note that these (SOG) superordinate goals should be challenging but attainable. They should be a reflection of your values and the type of person you would like to be. We will want to make it a little less vague and more motivating than our starting point above. For example, my idealized future self might be an extremely fit age group athlete who is strong and a good example to my children. Appropriate time should be spent on this to think about the values and things that really motivate you. On any given day, you may not be motivated to do your 30 minutes of cardio. It’s cold, it’s rainy, your shoelace has a knot in it and your mom isn’t around to get it out, whatever excuse pops up that demotivates you.  A motivating superordinate goal is one that says, in spite of the challenges, I will do my cardio because it is part of who I am and who I want to be.  Obstacles and roadblocks can even become a source of motivation in this mindset. You become the type of person that overcomes those things as part of who you are. As useful as superordinate goals are they lack detail. It’s like saying that you would love to visit Italy but never calling a travel agent. This is where our intermediate goals (IG) come in.

• Intermediate goals (IG) are a little more specific but not quite as actionable as we will eventually need. They do help us more accurately define what would be necessary to achieve our idealized future self. If one of our superordinate goals is to “be a healthy person” we next need to ask what does that entail? In our example above we see that it is someone who is in good physical condition, eats a nutrient dense diet, and maintains good sleep habits. This points us in a clearer direction but does not give us fully actionable steps that help us achieve our goals. For that we need to turn to our subordinate goals (SUB).

• Subordinate goals (SUB) are the most detailed and actionable goals in our goal hierarchy. They also most resemble the SMART goals we spoke of in the beginning. In our example we have determined that in order to be in good physical condition I will need to do 30 minutes of cardio 3 times a week, weight train 3 times a week, and do some form of balance training daily. This is where the rubber meets the road so to speak. These are the daily actions that lead us towards being that healthy person. All your subordinate and intermediate goals should support and draw us closer to our superordinate goals and our superordinate goals should clarify and motivate what we should and shouldn’t doing on a daily basis.

You could explore this method with a simple outline format:

        I. Superordinate Goals

a.  Get a degree

b. Be healthy

i) Be in good physical shape

1.      30 min. 3x/wk

2.      Weights 3x/wk

3.      Balance work daily

I suggest taking your time with the process. Identify what truly inspires you and keep in mind that you can revisit and adjust your priorities later on. There are many other aspects to consider for enhancing goal setting, like focusing on setting process goals over outcome goals, prioritizing approach goals over avoidance goals, and more. However, delving into these details will have to wait for a future blog post.

Should you need assistance with establishing your goal hierarchy or creating a customized fitness regimen, feel free to contact us at Team Bodylogic without any hesitation.

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