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If your ambitions for 2025 include achieving a heavy deadlift, running a marathon, or transforming your body, it’s crucial not to confine them within the rigid, pass-fail framework of SMART goals. However, SMART goals still hold value. You should aim for two kinds of goals: Dream Goals to fuel your inspiration and motivation, and SMART goals, which act as process-oriented milestones to guide you toward those dreams.
The Distinction Between SMART Goals and Dream Goals
While SMART goals have long been celebrated as a goal-setting strategy, they were originally designed for managers to assign quotas and tasks within companies (the initial “A” meant “assignable,” referring to tasks delegated to employees). Their application in fitness or personal growth is somewhat restricted.
In today's fitness context, a SMART goal is defined as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Essentially, it involves setting a deadline to reach a particular measurable outcome, turning it into a pass-or-fail scenario. To avoid failure, the bar must be set low, ensuring the goal is Achievable. This approach makes SMART goals less about inspiring dreams and more about manageable, incremental progress.
This is where dream goals come into play. A dream goal represents your true aspirations, whether realistic or not. It’s what drives you—be it deadlifting 500 pounds, hiking the Appalachian Trail, or even winning the Boston Marathon. While these dreams don’t fit the SMART framework, SMART goals can serve as stepping stones or process goals to help you work toward these larger ambitions.
Balancing Big Dreams with Practical Process Goals
While I’ve previously argued that SMART goals are overrated, they excel as a framework for process goals. Process goals are entirely within your control and inherently Achievable. Examples include running three times a week, eating vegetables with every meal, or following a training plan that prescribes five sets of eight deadlifts every Tuesday.
The purpose of process goals is to guide you toward your Dream Goal. Think of your Dream Goal as a distant mountain—visible but uncertain in distance and difficulty. Process goals are the steps that keep you moving forward: packing your gear, taking one step at a time, or, as Peloton instructor Tunde Oyeneyin says, “A goal is a wish. A standard holds us accountable.” Both are essential.
It’s crucial to let ourselves dream without limits. While shaving a minute off your 5K time this year is achievable, why stop there? Aiming to complete a 5K in under 20 minutes is an ambitious dream (especially if you’re currently at 30 minutes), but it’s absolutely worth pursuing. The journey to that goal may be challenging, but it’s one you’ll need to actively pursue.
Crafting SMART Goals to Complement Your Dream Goals
Let’s begin mapping out that journey. Just like climbing a distant mountain, the exact path won’t be clear until you’re on it. Focus on the immediate steps and the aspects you can control.
Here’s an example of setting SMART process goals to work toward a dream that might or might not be attainable. Suppose you’re a runner aiming to improve your speed. Your plan might look like this:
Dream goal: Complete a 5K in 20 minutes or less (eventually)
Process goals for winter/spring 2025:
Gradually increase my weekly running distance to build my aerobic base, aiming for 20 miles per week.
Conduct a time trial at the track on January 25 to establish a benchmark and determine my training paces.
Adhere to the Hal Higdon Intermediate 5K Training Program, incorporating the suggested strength training sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Participate in the Big Local 5K in my city this March.
After the race, celebrate my achievement, evaluate my performance, and set new process goals for summer training.
Notice how each of these five goals aligns with the SMART criteria?
They are Specific: Each goal clearly defines what needs to be done. (I’ve specified a mileage target and chosen a training program, but you can tailor these to your own needs.)
They are Measurable: You can track your progress by completing the miles or workouts. The time trial and race provide concrete results to measure improvement.
They are Attainable: You have complete control over whether you run, race, or follow the plan. (If life circumstances limit your control, adjust your goals accordingly.)
They are Relevant: Each goal contributes to becoming a faster 5K runner.
They are Time-bound: You can schedule every run over the next few months, working backward from the race date to plan your training.
These goals outline your process, allowing for reassessment later. After the Big Local 5K, you might focus on advanced 5K training, explore marathon training for base-building, or adjust your goals if other priorities, like paddleboarding, take precedence. You can always return to running in the fall.
This approach allows you to dream ambitiously while ensuring you’re consistently moving toward those grand aspirations—as long as you remain committed. Aim for the stars, and even if you fall short, you’ll have constructed an impressive foundation along the journey.
