As the saying goes, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
However, sometimes aiming beyond your reach can make even the most well-intended goals fall apart. Whether you’re an entrepreneur setting business goals or you’re working toward a major health milestone, an overly ambitious aspiration can fully derail a goal.
By setting your sights on achievable goals, you can build the stamina to reach your intended destination. Read on to learn more about how to set realistic goals, stay focused, and find success.
What makes a goal realistic?
A goal is realistic when it is attainable given your current circumstances and available resources. While it may involve pushing outside of your comfort zone, you can reach a realistic goal in a series of steps, none of which are individually overwhelming. This ensures that you can actually hit targets and stay motivated. If a goal is too imposing, it’s easy to feel down and defeated, making it difficult to get back up and keep going after setbacks.
One practitioner of realistic goal-setting is Stephen Grear, founder of the premium shoe care company Reshoevn8r. “If you have these visions that just may not be possible, it might discourage you,” he says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. Instead, Stephen advises taking baby steps—setting a large, attainable goal that you work toward in increments.
Goal-setting frameworks
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to setting goals, there are several different frameworks designed to fit your unique needs:
SMART goals
The SMART goal-setting framework stands for “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.” Developed by George Doran in 1981 to increase corporate productivity, this framework helps individuals and team leaders alike set realistic and logical goals that tie to larger objectives. Importantly, SMART goals are easy to understand and follow, allowing for maximum impact.
HARD goals
HARD stands for “heartfelt, animated, required, and difficult.” The HARD model requires you to push boundaries and break the status quo, setting goals that meet four criteria. You’re emotionally invested in the goal (heartfelt), you can clearly visualize achieving it (animated), the goal is necessary to your broader success (required), and it requires meaningful effort (difficult). Created in 2017, the HARD model was designed after studying the goal-setting approach of corporate leaders, who were more prone to set concrete, challenging goals as opposed to vague ones, helping to propel them to success by swinging big.
OKRs
OKR stands for “objectives and key results.” This framework was introduced to the Google workforce in 1999 by investor John Doerr. OKRs are often collaborative and set across a team. They tend to include an overall objective, say to increase brand loyalty, followed by the results that will indicate the objective has been met (e.g., a 5% increase in repeat purchases).
Free OKR Template
Align your team and boost performance. This simple template helps you set clear objectives and track key results for measurable success.
Stephen Grear, founder of Reshoevn8r, uses this model to break ambitious goals down into smaller OKRs that can be chipped away at over time. “What it allows you to do is keep your eye on the big prize but focus on the small things that it’s gonna take to get there,” he says.
BHAG
BHAG stands for “big, hairy audacious goal,” a term coined by author Jim Collins in his book Built To Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. A BHAG goal is “clear and compelling and serves as a unifying focal point of effort—often creating immense team spirit,” he writes. Even though it may seem ambitious, a BHAG goal is strategically selected to be energizing in a way that helps teams get focused, rather than intimidated or frustrated.
Golden Circle
The Golden Circle model focuses on first setting the intended “why” behind setting a particular goal before moving to the methodology of “how” and the tangible final product, the “what.” Golden Circle creator Simon Sinek describes it as a means “to find order and predictability in human behavior.” The framework uses neuroscience to show that humans are more motivated when they’re emotionally invested in the “why” behind a goal.
How to set realistic goals
- Articulate your vision
- Pick a framework
- Break goals down into smaller objectives
- Set realistic deadlines
- Track progress
- Be adaptable and flexible
Whether you’re aiming to grow a brand or achieve personal development, these practical tips can help you set attainable goals:
Articulate your vision
It can be easy to get lost in the minutiae of goal-setting, but it’s important to remember why you set a goal in the first place. First, imagine what the results of achieving your goal will look and feel like. Next, use the motivation behind your goal to drive how you set benchmarks; envision yourself reaching and completing each step in the process as part of the larger context of reaching your goal. Write a personal or business-focused vision statement to reflect on and guide your action plan.
Pick a framework
Select one of the above frameworks and get to work setting the parameters of your goal so they fit within the structure. Choosing the right model comes down to your individual needs—whether you’re a C-suite leader or a burgeoning entrepreneur—and awareness of your situation and existing resources. While a BHAG goal might work for the former, it might not be the right approach for the latter, who may opt for a series of less risky SMART goals.
Break goals down into smaller objectives
Maintain momentum by focusing on incremental progress. Author James Clear helped popularize this idea with his “one percent better every day” approach, which he describes in his book Atomic Habits as continuous improvement or “a dedication to making small changes and improvements every day, with the expectation that those small improvements will add up to something significant.”
Set realistic deadlines
Setting deadlines will help ensure that you’re on track to meet your goals and motivate you to complete the tasks necessary to reach them. Set realistic deadlines that promote a steady pace without leading to burnout. Use a goal-setting tool that assists with setting deadlines and helps you stay accountable.
Track progress
Progress tracking involves comparing your achievements to the incremental milestones and metrics you set, adjusting your approach to account for unexpected setbacks.
Ryder Carroll, the founder of Bullet Journal, knows the importance of tracking. He created his product as a direct result of looking for a way to stay on top of his own aspirations. “I grew up with pretty bad ADHD, and at the time, there weren’t a lot of tools available to me,” he says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “The only platform that I had available was a paper notebook. So over the years, I started designing custom ways for me to become more focused and organized and productive."
Using a Bullet Journal to track your progress allows you to have a centralized, structured place to granularly log tasks and analyze your progress in real-time in pursuit of your goals. It also serves as a detailed record you can visit for review and reflection of your work.
Be adaptable and flexible
Once you’ve set your deadlines, be adaptable to any changes that may arise. External factors, ranging from market forces to family emergencies, can thwart even the best-laid plans. Rather than dwelling on moments of hardship or failure, use this time to reflect on the positive aspects of your journey and assess your key learnings. From there, you can readjust your goals to better meet your needs and capabilities.
How to set realistic goals FAQ
What is an example of a realistic goal?
Let’s say you’re a busy parent who wants to attend law school. This is a realistic goal, assuming a few preconditions are met. You might first ensure you have help with childcare (a supportive partner, parents who live nearby). Then, you’d assess your strengths and weaknesses and set a realistic goal for your target LSAT test score. Based on that, you’d identify a list of schools that accept scores within that range. This approach makes the goal realistic.
How can I make sure my goals are realistic?
A goal is realistic if it’s attainable and within reach, given your current situation and with the resources you have at hand. Ensure it’s realistic by putting it through a goal framework and dividing it into smaller pieces to see how attainable the initial process feels, then adjust as needed.
How can you tell if a goal is unrealistic?
A goal is likely unrealistic if you can’t break it down into a series of attainable steps, the first of which is immediately accessible to you. If you’re stalled without a way to move forward, it’s possible the original goal may have been too ambitious. Take a step back and see how you can further break down the goal or simplify it to start making progress in pursuit of the larger aim.
