What are DUMB goals? According to Brendon Burchard, they are:
- Dream-Driven/Destiny Driven
- Uplifting/Inspiring
- Method-Friendly – (Enjoyable/easy process of attainment)
- Behaviour-Driven – (Habits triggered by normal daily behaviours)
Here’s a video of Brendon explaining how SMART goals may be too cerebral (and realistic) for you to get excited about them! If you’re not excited about a particular goal, you’re probably not setting the right one, or you’re aiming too small.
In my article on SMART goals you can see the difference in goal setting approach. SMART is an acronym for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Time Bound
While I like the SMART goals idea, I definitely agree with Brendon; particularly regarding the “Realistic” part of the Goal setting process. While a realistic goal is attainable, it’s often not terribly exciting.
As a child I used to dream about stuff with a totally open mind. What Brendon is saying is that this natural ability to dream big is easily lost by pinning goals down into small boxes and dutifully working for their attainment; ticking off activities like a robot! In this scenario you can easily get too caught up in the minutiae of the detail, while losing the bigger picture of your larger destiny/dream!
DUMB Goals Vs SMART Goals
A DUMB goal therefore maybe more useful in that it can fire you up and motivate you into action. But there’s still a place for SMART goals within perhaps a shorter time frame. DUMB goals could be used for the 10-20 year timeframe and SMART goals could be used to track that your activity is aligned with your longer term goals.
Ultimately if you’re not motivated by your goal, you’re very unlikely to achieve it. So which are better between DUMB goals and SMART goals? Well of course this depends on you. Some people are more motivated by getting analytical about their “baby steps” and making progress, however slow. Others are more motivated by the grand vision, of the 5-10 year plan.
I suggest finding a goal setting plan which you are comfortable with and which means you can maintain enthusiasm for your longer term goals by aligning smaller steps you can take every day. If you lose your enthusiasm, you can always realign with your goals and refocus on your longer term vision.
Aligning Yourself With Your Goals
Choose a goal for the next 3-5 years and write it down. Does it excite you? By how much does it excite you out of 10? If it’s less than a 10, start again. Your 3-5 year goal should be super exciting to you; otherwise you’re more than likely not going to stick on the path to achieve it.
Once you have found your 10/10, 3-5 year goal, ask yourself how attainable it is? Do you believe you can attain this goal? On a scale out of 10, how achievable do you think it is? If you have scored less than 10/10 for believability, you need to change your goal.
A good goal should give you a 10 out of 10 for desirability and a 10 out of 10 for believability. If you don’t really, really want your goal, you’re not going to go after it, particularly if it’s difficult. If you don’t believe your goal is possible, you’re not going to chase it either.
This simple exercise is a good way to find goals which are meaningful to you. While a DUMB goal sounds like a good idea, how long will you actually chase a DUMB goal if you don’t really believe in it?
In Stuart Lichtman’s book on achievement he goes into further details on how you can attain a seemingly impossible goal. See also Stuart Lichtman cybernetic transposition.