Why do we set goals anyway?

This week I set a goal of greeting each of my coworkers in the morning when I walk into the office. It’s not a big goal by any means and it’s easily obtainable. But I have yet to pull it off. It almost seems silly! Why wouldn’t I greet everyone on a consistent basis? Well, it’s harder than it seems.

More than likely it’s habit. That’s what I’m hoping. I’ll admit my manners aren’t consistently good. Which goes back to my childhood. I was not drilled on “Please” and “Thank you.” And I can be a bit awkward. If I’ve been writing all day or am distracted by a problem I’m solving, for example, I can get lost in my thoughts and not pay attention to my surroundings. Hopefully achieving this goal will put a stop to that!

I realized last week that the only person who consistently says hello to everyone is my boss. That makes sense! Others try but the few that succeed don’t always seem sincere and aren’t as consistent as my boss.

So I made it my goal. It’s technically a SMART goal which means:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time Bound

My goal is specific, to greet each of my coworkers in the morning. It’s measurable in that I either did it or not. It’s attainable because I’ll be going into work every day this week. It’s relevant because it’s something I should be doing anyway. And my goal is time bound since I’m focusing on one week.

So far so good! I’m one day in. The funny thing about yesterday morning is that I got to say hello twice. I arrived to work, said my greetings, then got a phone call that my son wasn’t feeling well and I had to turn around to pick him up at school. When I arrived back at the office I had a replay of the hour before! A bonus practice session!

#SMART #goals #habit #manners