Men. Intelligent.™

 

Challenge #7

Don’t start before completing Challenge #6
If you want to join the IntelliMen project, start from Challenge #1.

 

We are now on the seventh challenge. The curious have fallen by the wayside, the weak have given up, and the puzzled are still trying to figure out Challenge #1. Only the committed and determined remain on the quest to become better men in every area of their lives. So now we can share even more useful tools with you. This is what we’re going to do in this challenge.

Challenge: Learn to intelligently define goals; practice what you learn by defining an intelligent goal.

Explanation: A particular trait of men is the ability to focus on a goal. Since the beginning of time man’s role has been to hunt, form armies, fight wars, provide for his family and make it grow. Men were forced to define goals, focus on them, and find ways to accomplish them. A man’s life depended on it. We’re not saying that women are incapable of this – in fact, some are even better at it than men. But the fact is that men have been doing for longer. This characteristic is part of what makes men strong, secure, and determined – a natural-born leader.

And so, the challenge for today will be to reflect on how to define goals in an intelligent manner, and accomplish them. Think about the following information.

An intelligent goal has 5 parts. It has to be:

1. Specific   2. Measurable   3. Achievable   4. Realistic   5. Time framed

To better understand what each of these parts stand for, let’s say for example that your goal is to get into better physical shape. Simply saying, “I want to get into shape,” doesn’t give you a clear picture of what you want or have to do. Because of this, you have to redefine this objective using the five steps above, like this:

1. Specific: What do you want to see when you “get into shape?” How much do you want to weigh? What will your daily menu consist of? How do you want to feel? What will you be able to do that you’re unable to do right now? We need to have a clear and specific picture in our minds of what it will be like to achieve our goal. The clearer and more specific, the better.
2. Measureable: How many kilos/pounds will you have to lose or gain? How long will you have to exercise daily/weekly? What size will your new clothes be when your body reaches the size you are imagining? Your goal has to be measurable, so you will know when you’ve reached it.
3. Achievable: If you’re extremely thin and want to become a sumo wrestler, you probably won’t make it. If you’re 40 years old and want to start a career as a professional football/soccer player, once more, you’re not going to make it. If you want to lose 30 kilos (66 lbs) in one month, it will almost certainy be unhealthy for you. Basically, your goal must be achievable, something you believe you can accomplish. And yet, it shouldn’t be too easy or else you won’t be motivated to reach it.
4. Realistic: Why is it important for you to get into shape? At this point in your life is there anything more important? Is this something worth fighting for? If your goal is not realistic you will be distracted by more important things. In this example, you will only reach your goal if “getting into shape” is extremely important and a priority in your life at this point in time.
5. Time framed: When do you want to reach your goal? This is where most fail. It’s essential to determine a realistic date and commit yourself to it. Look at the calendar and decide on the date. Between now and that date you will need to have an action plan – what you are going to do to achieve your goal.

Whether your goal is big or small, personal or business related, home or education based, spiritual or financial – you need to define it in an intelligent manner. (To help you remember, an acronym for the 5 steps is SMART: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Time framed. And so we need to be SMART in the way we define our goals.)

Now that you know how to do it, define a goal that has the five parts above and that you can work on immediately. It can be something totally new or something that you’re already working on. Remember the SMART steps, in other words, identify the five different parts mentioned above. Place the date for when you want to achieve it in your calendar.

Official Buddy: Speak to your buddy about SMART goals, what you learned, how you intend to use this knowledge from now, whether or not it was difficult to define your goal, etc. You want to keep your goal to yourself, that’s okay.

Deadline: This task can be begun immediately and should be completed before Challenge #8.

Post: After – and only after – you have completed the challenge (not your goal,) post a comment about what caught your attention about this challenge.  Post it on the IntelliMenWorld Facebook or Twitter page, (not on your own page) and write the following:

IntelliMen Challenge #7 done: What caught my attention the most was… (add your comment)

 

Links:
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www.twitter.com/intellimenworld (when tweeting, use @intelliMenworld)

 

Verification checklist:

☐ I learned to define SMART goals
☐ I defined a goal, and included it in my Notebook and Calendar
☐ I spoke to my Partner about the challenge
☐ I posted it on Facebook/Twitter