#88: How To Set SMART Goals and Make Them Stick

Welcome to the Passive Income MD Podcast, where we talk about creating your ideal life through multiple streams of income. I'm your host, Peter Kim. If you enjoy hearing about this stuff, make sure to hit subscribe so I can bring it to you every week. Now, let's get on with the show. Hey, everyone. I hope you're doing well. Hope life is good. This week we're going to be talking about goals and how to make them stick. As I'm recording this, it's at the end of a year, you know, it's been a crazy year. I know for everyone what a new year brings us a lot of hope and optimism, and it does for me. But I know that the end of the year can be quite hectic and. But we're going to start thinking. I know you're going to start thinking about it. It's like, how do I make the 2022 in particular a good year? How do I make the next year a great year, better than the year before? You know, what can I truly accomplish? And then how can I actually make it happen? Right. I think all of us come up with New Year's resolutions in some way, shape or form. Usually it's in the form of, you know, saying something like, oh, I'd like to be healthier, I'd like to make more money, I'd like to be a better parent or a better partner, these kind of things. And, you know, I've done this plenty in the past before, but it's so funny how quickly these things fade off. You forget about them, you. You go off the path, and then ultimately you realize, wait, I didn't really accomplish what I wanted to accomplish. But every year, I still tend to set goals. And so over the past couple years, though, I found myself hitting more and more of these goals and actually accomplishing them. And it's through actually building out somewhat of a system to make sure they stick. You know, how have I done that? Again? I've learned from other people, right, who do this well. And so I've learned a lot about how to set goals, achieve them, and make sure they have a true impact on my life rather than just waste time and effort. You know, people say, like, why start at the new year? Why create a goal now? Is that like just an artificial thing? Or, you know, is it just like an empty type promise? But I actually think it's great because again, New Year, you know, comes with new mindset, kind of a ability to kind of clean your trash bin out and start again. And it allows us to honestly Think big. Like, if we create goals that challenge us, I truly believe that's what really helps us grow. And, you know, the destination and the goal, it's important, don't get me wrong, but it really is truly the effort and all the experience that we gain and the experience of actually trying to meet that goal, which really gives us, I don't know, true direction in life and allows us to honestly feel good about ourselves. You know, again, I know some other people are going to say, why even set goals? Just try to be better, try to be healthier. But honestly, it's like, you know, trying to get to a destination. You need to know two things. You need to know where you want to go and where you're starting. Now, you don't know the exact course necessarily. It's not just like, you know, on Waze or Google Maps, it won't be exactly like that. But as long as you have a basic direction, you want to get to the other side, you're going to have to course correct along the way. But you have, you know, a focus and, and you know where you want to hit. And I think that's absolutely important to do. So we're going to be talking about the SMART system of creating goals, and then I'm going to give you an example of how I've, you know, use that system to create and hit some financial goals in my life. So what does SMART stand for? It's an acronym when it comes to goal setting. It's not something I created, but it's something that I've used to good effect. S stands for specific, M stands for measurable, A stands for achievable, R stands for realistic, and T stands for time frame. So let's look at each of these letters in a little bit more depth. So S stands for specific. Now, the more specific your goal this has been shown over time, the more likely it is that you'll achieve it. So, for example, to think about like a financial goal, saying that you just want to create more passive income or say that you want to make more money is a good goal, but you're going to more likely hit it, the more specific you are. For example, you might want to say, in 2022 or next year, I want to figure out a way to make $5,000 a month in passive income. So think about it. I mean, who do you think will have a better chance of actually coming up with specific actions that will help them achieve their goal? It's the person that has that specific number in mind. And I think that's an absolutely important place to start with when it comes to setting goals. Now, M stands for measurable. Now, this kind of goes hand in hand with the idea of specificity. Like, if a goal specific, there will likely be ways to measure or track your progress. Like, keeping an eye on your progress is so important because it helps build momentum. It helps you chart your course and see that you're actually making progress when it comes to your goal. Right. Having small wins along the way is absolutely important. Let's say you wanted to be a doctor. Like, how did you know that you were making good progress? Well, part of it's like your grades that you're doing well, you're hitting certain scores, you're getting certain types of interviews, you're getting, you're getting acceptances. And these are all measurable points along the way to show how well you're progressing towards your goal. I've heard it said before, and you might have heard this, like, what gets measured gets done. And I absolutely believe that. So, for example, if you wanted that $5,000 a month in passive income next year, that's an easily measurable number. Each investment that you make, each decision that you make, you can figure out, okay, that was an extra $500 a month or extra thousand dollars a month. Right. Maybe you buy that investment property that gives you $2,000 a month, you can figure out how close you are to achieving your goals just by seeing the number and measuring it against what your goal was. All right, A achievable. You know, I'm all for setting goals that will push you way beyond what you think you can achieve. And I think it's absolutely important to do that, to push ourselves past our limiting beliefs. But it's also important to set a goal that's achievable. And I know that's kind of a little bit of a balance. For example, let's just say you have no experience or capital, but your goal is to generate $20,000 a month of passive income within six months. To be honest, that's probably not going to happen. I don't want to, like, you know, discourage anyone from trying to do that, but it helps to listen to stories of others who have achieved what you want to achieve. We talked about that in previous podcast. Find someone you want to model and do what they do. You know, seeing what others have achieved will give you an idea for what could be realistic. Now, again, life is about momentum. And if you find yourself so far from your goals that you can't see any way of actually getting There, I find it might discourage you from pressing on. So I think it's important to create an achievable goal that is actually the next letter realistic. Again, we should be setting goals that make us uncomfortable. Like, if it does make you uncomfortable and weird to write it down to tell somebody, that's a good thing. It's going to create growth and it's going to help challenge yourself. You know, for example, for me, like, when I told my wife initially that I wanted to create $20,000 a month in passive income within 10 years, it felt really unachievable to me. But again, I had seen other people who had done it, and that helped me realize this is achievable and this is realistic. So it's finding that right balance there. Now, for T, that stands for timeline. Now, specificity is virtually meaningless without a timeline in place. People need timelines. I mean, I always think back to college and med school when deadlines were extremely motivating. I mean, I'll be honest, I'm a procrastinator. So when I went to study for that big exam or get that project done, and it's still, in a lot of ways, I'm still like this. That deadline is what drives me, and I see that, and it allows me to make things happen. I think humans and everyone, all of you listening to this, you're motivated by deadlines and urgency. We do what we need to do at the time because our time is limited, our energy is limited, and, you know, you're going to be focused on what needs to get done. So without that timeline, like, really, you know, planting that flag for when that goal will be accomplished, I actually think it can be meaningless setting these goals, like, just getting healthier, like, that's not going to do anything right for yourself. Like, you have to have that specific goal, what's realistic, right? What's achievable, what you can measure, right? And then ultimately you need that timeline. So, having all those things in mind, the smart goals, I'm gonna be talking a little bit about financial goals next because, you know, a lot of the subject matter of this podcast is talking about financial goals. So I think following that smart format is absolutely important. For example, here's a great goal. You might wanna say, look, I'd like to create $1,000 a month in passive income by the end of next year. You know, that's a great smart goal. You created a very specific number. You've given yourself a timeline. You know, it's something that you can measure along the way. And it's absolutely achievable and realistic. Now, I've also learned, if you want to just really kind of cement this goal into your mind and make sure that you are creating that mindset for success, it's really important to know what you want to achieve. And I think that's why the smart goals are awesome. But I think the other thing that you have to add to it is why you want to achieve it. You know, the reason why is ultimately what's going to drive you. If that reason is compelling enough, it's like the most powerful force out there. You know, I think you need to ask yourself, you know, these questions to figure out your quote, unquote, why, you know, why is it so important for me to achieve this goal? How will I feel if I achieve this goal? And then who is it going to ultimately affect? You know, what will happen if I don't achieve this goal? And that's like the opposite. Well, how will I feel? And who will it ultimately affect? Again, I've learned to ask myself these questions often again and again. So, for example, when it came to creating that $20,000 a month in passive income for myself, I answered the questions these ways, like, why is it so important for me to achieve this goal? You know, for me, it's very clear. I wanted to have financial freedom. I wanted to make sure that this would allow me to live life on my own terms, create that life in medicine and outside medicine in a way that I choose, right? Spending the time with people I love, doing the absolute things that I love. And so the next question I ask myself is, like, how will I feel if I achieve this goal? I mean, it's very simple. I'd feel amazing, right? I feel like I have control. I'd feel accomplished, I'd feel free, and I'd feel like life is abundant and extraordinary. And ultimately, who's gonna give impact? And I said to myself, yeah, this is gonna affect myself, right? First, my wellbeing, especially with everything that's going on in medicine today. Like, it would impact also my family. I'd be able to devote quality time to them, like, live that legacy life that I wanted to really be present in the lives of my wife and my kids, my families. And I knew I wouldn't have any regrets later in life knowing that I missed out on a period of their lives. You know, this is time that we don't get back. I also felt that it would impact my life as a doctor, because, you know, as we all know, many physicians are unhappy today because they don't feel that they're in control of their lives. But what if I was a physician who was able to practice how I wanted do it because I felt passionate about it, because I loved it? How would that translate to patient care? And, you know, being a healthy individual myself, both mentally and physically, I'd have the opportunity to give to people in a way that, you know, my best, right? In the way that they deserve. So that other question now, what will happen if I don't achieve this goal? Right? To think about what happens if you take action, but what happens if you don't take action? And so I thought about that as well. If I don't achieve this goal, I really felt like I wouldn't feel in control of my life. You know, trading time for dollars, stressed about the next paycheck, stressed about every little political or regulatory change in medicine that happens. Insurance companies always just obsessed with those type of details. I think it would take a toll on my life. And how would I feel? I feel trapped, right? And potentially burnt out. And that's what I didn't want to get to. And who will it ultimately impact if I didn't achieve that goal? I knew that it would impact myself, right? And my family. I wouldn't have the time for or energy to devote to them in the way that I feel I should. I'd miss out on important moments. And I have missed out on a ton of important moments. And I didn't want to miss out on more. And I knew that later in life I might regret that I worked so hard. People talk about it all the time. That's like, you know, one of the regrets of the dying is never I wish I had worked more. And so. And it would also affect my patients because to get a burnt out physician, you know, without the energy, without the motivation, you know, do they get the care that they deserve? So in addition to going through that smart exercise, I would go through that quote, unquote, why exercise to make it very clear how important it was to achieve my goals. And this ultimately gave me that motivation, that huge nudge that lasted far beyond the first two weeks of the year, right. That more than most people fail at. I forgot what the percentages are. But it's like most people by two to three weeks into the year have already kind of given up on their resolutions. And I didn't want that to be me. And knowing my clear why, knowing these goals, it made me really hungry to figure out how to make it happen. Right? Take that idea and then ultimately figure out what are the specific actions it would take me to get close to my goals. And honestly, it forced me to be resourceful. Like, I think that we all have that oppor, you know, that innate ability to be resourceful as doctors. We've done it. We do it in our daily lives. We've done it to get where we're at, and we'll continue to do that. And, you know, when the stakes are high, which are often in our case, cases, like on a daily basis, that we figure out a way. And I think that when it comes to these goals, especially financial goals, you know, you can absolutely figure out a way. So I just want to encourage you as we get to the end of this year, or whenever you're listening to this and the beginning of a new year and you're thinking about setting goals, really think about framing it in this way, obviously writing it down, writing these things down so that you can look back on it and throughout the year and figure out where you're getting. I think you'll be surprised when you get to the end of the year having done this exercise, being able to see how far you've progressed, where you've actually come to, because you've set this goal as such an important thing in your life, anchored it through these why exercises. Use the smart goals. And ultimately I believe you're going to be successful at it. So apply that to all the different goals in your life this year that you're trying to accomplish in the next year, and I know you'll be successful. And whatever I can do to support you, please let me know. You know, I just wish everybody listening to this, an amazing new year, a really fulfilled, extraordinary life, you know, on your own terms. And let's talk again soon. Thanks everyone. Enjoy the show. Let me know by dropping a review in the podcast app you're listening to us in. And if you haven't already, make sure to hit subscribe. Are you part of our community yet? Join thousands of physicians who are also on this journey to creating their ideal lives through multiple streams of income. You can join us on our Facebook group Passive Income Docs, and you can always learn more at our website, passiveincomemd.com thanks again for allowing me to be a part of your journey. See you next time.