A smart goal is also one that will get you ahead and leave you time for some personal time management and some fun.

When setting a career goal the best possible theory is to choose something that you are really drawn to. Not so long ago our society was full of unhappy people who went into the family business because it was expected of them or they felt that they had no choice. Now the possibilities are much greater. No longer do young people have to take into consideration what is expected of them, we are a freer society and allow for personal choices in achieving professional or personal goals. Once upon a time it was just a given that a young man would take over the family business, and that type of thinking went on for centuries, so far back in fact that some of our very surnames are a result of what we did for a living ("smith" is so common because there were lots of them-silversmiths, blacksmith, goldsmiths…) which is not to say that it was wrong. There is a great amount of pride to be had with carrying on the family tradition.

Flexible Goals

Knowing what you really want, what is a fit and match for you when you are the person you most want to be, must come before setting or learning how to set achievable goals.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that once a goal is written down that it is set in stone. It can end up being a true waste of time to spend a day a week a month a year or even your entire life working toward something only to find out that who you are becoming because of that wasn't a fit and match for who you were.

What needs to be set in stone is your unwavering position about how you know yourself to be when you are "right" right with the world and being unwilling to move off of that no matter what. When you've made that decision, you can then have incredible flexibility with the goals you set.

The world changes, people change, and what you had as a concrete goal as a child or as a student tends to change from time to time, maybe even from year to year. The best that you can do is ask yourself periodically if the goals that you thought were so important once are still as important today.

That's may not be what young people want to hear today in a world where everything is so uncertain. Goal achieving should be celebrated by completion of the steps, whether they take you closer to the goal or change the trajectory of what you had in mind in the first place to be in alignment with the life you most want to be having. A good plan always includes the possibility of changing directions when necessary. You must be flexible enough to acknowledge that the best planning includes the short or long term plan that can be modified to meet the situation.

Stay Focused

This isn't to condone never finishing anything because you keep changing your mind. “Changing your mind” in this context comes from not having a clear sense of who you are when you're most being the person you want to be. It comes from being disconnected from it and being blown on the winds of whatever external forces happen to be moving you at that particular moment in time in whatever direction they happen to be going.

That type of behavior is born of ignorance, fear or laziness. My theory is that sometimes a secondary gain can override what you know is best for you. You need to first make the decision that you want what is best for you before you can go any further. If you have already made that decision and are having some difficulty maintaining that a good life coachcan be perfect for some motivational guidance.

Remember to plan your goals, measure your performance, do what you love to do, and get over the expectations that others put on you because life is short and ultimately whatever length that is is the one thing that is truly yours.