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Military Men Share Strategies for Setting and Accomplishing Goals

When you walk into the Noho Barry's Bootcamp location in New York City it says scrawled in oversized letters ‘The dream is free, the hustle is sold separately,’ which ties into another trite but true idiom: ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get.’

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Everyone can wish and hope, but without an actual action plan it’s nearly impossible to achieve goals – and that applies to everything from diet and exercise, to getting a new job or starting a family. But how exactly can one go about successfully implementing a plan to tackle their resolutions? Few people are as well equipped to offer advice in this area as military men – whose own plans have dealt with life or death scenarios – to answer this question.

Here’s a look at what three former military men have to say about setting and achieving goals.

1. Try the SMART Strategy

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Oriented. “This approach surpassed all others for me as it broke down setting and achieving goals into a well-defined formula to avoid missed opportunities or losing sight of completion,” says Jim Day, a former Navy SEAL and the vice president of global supply chain for ’47.

Here’s how Day breaks down the approach:

S - Specific: There is no ambiguity as to what the desired result is. For example, don’t make your goal to simply lose weight; be specific and plan to increase your workout frequency to three times per week in order to lose 10 pounds by June.

M – Measurable: Ensure the criteria of success is defined and understood. If we keep going with the weight loss example, success will be measured by keeping a calendar and checking off the days you worked out. Monday mornings are ‘weigh-in’ days where you will write down results on your calendar.

A – Achievable: Ensure the goal is realistic and attainable. In the case of weight loss, check with your doctor to discuss whether 10 pounds is a healthy and achievable goal given your current condition.

R – Relevant: Ensure the goal is consistent with overall objectives and not something random. For example, weight loss is consistent with personal goals of being healthy and maintaining a more active lifestyle.

T – Time-Oriented: Ensure there is a specific date targeted for completion. Starting in January and ending in June describes a timeline and is not open-ended.

“After a couple of weeks, you would know if the plan was working based on the results you’re measuring,” says Day. “If for some reason you’re not seeing progress, perhaps something isn’t right in which case you should re-evaluate to ensure the goal remains a priority and is given the resources required to achieve it.”

To give you an idea of things to consider if you’re not hitting your targets, here are some examples Day gives of questions you should ask yourself when working towards a goal – using the weight loss scenario as an example:

Have I consulted my physician to ensure there is not an underlying issue? Do I have a planned workout routine that I understand and can execute? Have I scheduled my time effectively to ensure I have the time to work out? Am I making incremental improvement? Have I modified my diet to eat healthily?

Once you get the answers, go back to the SMART strategy and revise the goal or revise the resource plan to achieve success.

2. Don’t Let Fear Get in the Way

Everyone has fear, but not everyone manages it effectively. “Being in the Navy taught me that fear and risk can be mitigated to an acceptable margin that can be executed against with action and purpose,” says Brandon Webb, a former Navy SEAL and the founder of SOFREP. “Once you get comfortable confronting your fear over and over, you master it.” It’s not uncommon for the fear of failure to stop us from achieving our goals as the feelings of ‘Why bother, I’ll fail anyway’ come bubbling to the surface.

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3. Stay Calm Under Pressure

It doesn’t get more high stress than being a head sniper instructor for the SEALs. “Going through the stress of SEAL training, and then sniper school, has been a great gift that has taught me how to remain calm under fire when dealing with everything from difficult customers and vendors to legal matters,” notes Webb. While sniper school might not be written in the stars for you, cultivating a meditation practice can have a tremendous impact on one's ability to remain calm under pressure while reaching their goals. Particularly, if your goals involve other people, modeling good behavior is key.

4. When You Say You’ll Do Something, Do It

Mantras can be very powerful and a particularly effective one according to E. Matthew ‘Whiz’ Buckley, a former Navy Fighter Pilot and the founder/CEO of Top Gun Options, is ‘You got this.’

“When I asked someone in the military to do something, as soon as I was done speaking, the task was done in my mind,” says Buckley. “As a C-level executive in the business world, I quickly found out that many times when I asked someone to do something and was told ‘sure…,’ there was no way in hell that task was going to get done. The companies I’ve started and own are staffed with men and women who understand that when they are tasked with something they should say ‘I got it’ and mean it.” Having a mindset of accountability is essential for any type of success when it comes to setting and achieving goals.

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Sharon Feiereisen, Khareem Sudlow