We're almost to the end of the year, and – oops, would you look at that? Many of us have lost track of our beginning of the year goals.

No time like the present to revisit those goals, and make sure you set those goals in a way that sets you up for success. One simple, proven way are SMART goals.

I’d be willing to bet you’ve run into the idea of setting SMART goals before, but if you’re a little foggy on the details, SMART goals are those that are:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Timely

Let’s break those down:

Specific – Specific gets down to the details. It’s not just “I want to be more healthy” but instead, “I will lose weight.”

Measurable – How can you know you’ve reached your goal? Make sure you can measure it in some way – think some kind of quantitative/numeric value. “I will lose weight” becomes more specifically, “I will lose 15 pounds.”

Achievable – This is about chunking up goals in to smaller, easily accomplished pieces. So, it might be that you’re really aiming to lose 30 pounds, but that might feel out of reach. Be SMART, and make a more attainable goal of 15 pounds first.

Realistic – You might need to do some soul searching or research to make sure the goal you are setting is realistic. Losing 15 pounds in five weeks isn’t necessarily safe – nor, for most of us, is having a runway model figure a month after giving birth. So make sure your goal is something you’re able to do and willing to stick with the steps to make it happen.

Timely – Did you forget to set a deadline for your goals at the beginning of the year? If the answer is yes, that might be why you lost track of the goal. Giving ourselves a deadline to strive for provides internal accountability. So, give your goal a time element: “I will lose 15 pounds in 12 weeks.”

Remember our original goal, “I want to be more healthy”? Losing weight may be just one part of that goal, which could include exercising, taking supplements, reducing your intake of sugar. All those elements can become SMART goals as well.

Your goals may not be health related – you could be launching a new product for your business, planning a family reunion, saving money for a new car – whatever that goal is, make it SMART and make it your biggest and best success yet!