This approach to goal setting is something I created to go beyond the SMART goal method. Many people I have coached and worked with over the years know the SMART goal approach and have often just rolled their eyes and expressed exasperation at the thought of doing that one more time. So, I created this approach to bring in a few different elements and increase the personal motivational factors.
You will notice that the MASTERY style of goal setting is similar to the SMART method. However it revises a couple of the letters and adds two very important elements to boost intrinsic motivation and tap into your own personal passion for the goal. Without going too deep into all of the specifics in this brief guide, I’ll just point out a couple of important adjustments.
One change is the “A” shifts from being “achievable” to being “action-oriented.” In my experience starting your goal statement with an action verb helps shift the psychological mindset towards doing something, rather than just hoping for something. The added “E” in this approach ensures that you have written the statement in a way that lifts, motivates, and gives you energy when you read it and focus on it. Finally, the “Y” gives you personal ownership over the goal rather than relying on a suggestion or an opinion someone else has given you.
Each of the elements are shown in the chart below.
Let’s take a look at how the original goal statement changes when using the MASTERY method of goal setting.
Original statement: “I want to lose weight.”
MASTERY Statement:
“I will reduce my weight down to 185 pounds from my current 205 pounds by exercising with 2 friends 3 times a week on M-W-F and tracking my progress using the Fitness Pal app for 6 months until June 1st so I can look good when I attend my sister’s wedding on June 10th.”
This statement “checks all the boxes” for each element of the MASTERY goal setting approach. (See the summary on the next page.) It has the advantage of providing a personal, motivating reason for the goal. It is very specific and clearly measurable. The disadvantage, of course, is that it takes more time to develop and is more complex. From my experience, however, this type of goal will produce results far more often than any other kind of goal statement.
Here is a summary of how this statement meets all of the MASTERY goal setting criteria:
M – measurable “…I will bring my weight down to 185 pounds…”
A – action-oriented “…I will reduce my weight…”
S – specific “…down to 185…exercising with 2 friends 3 times a week…”
T – time-sensitive “…for 6 months until June 1st…”
E – energizing “…so I can look good…”
R – realistic reducing weight by 25 pounds in 6 months is very realistic
Y – yours “…when I attend my sister’s wedding…” (it’s personal)
Many people I have coached over the years have found tremendous success with this approach when other methods have not produced the results they wanted. They admit that it takes more work on the front end to craft a really effective MASTERY goal statement, but the results are worth it.
To help you better understand how to use this method of goal setting, I am taking my years of coaching others with this approach and putting it into an online course. While it is not quite ready for launch, as of this writing, just CLICK HERE and get your name on the “Notify Me!” list. As soon as it is available, I’ll send you an email letting you know and you can take a look at all the details to see if it’s something you think would help you.