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5 SMART Behavior Goals To Develop For Success [Seneca]

By Effluo | Published August 16, 2022 | No Comments

Success is achievable and yes, anyone can attain it. It is not limited to the select few but can be reached by anyone willing to do so. It is not about what you have or do not have in your life. It is, however, about your mindset and your personal behavior development.  

It is working on yourself and developing the smart behavior goals to reach your personal definition of success.

What Are These Right Behaviors Needed For Achieving Success?

Another name for smart behavior goals is habit development. This is when you set a specific goal related to your behaviors and habits, and develop an action plan to successfully attain that behavior.

To find the right behavior goals, we looked into the teaching and work of one of the greatest Stoic philosophers and statesman, Seneca.  He was very successful in his lifetime and remains very influential two thousand years later.

In his work Letters from the Stoic Seneca talks about the specific characteristics that need to be present for a person to be successful.

Before jumping into the characteristics described by Seneca, let us talk about SMART goals and what they have to do with behavior development.     

SMART Behavior Goals

Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind. – Seneca

SMART goal setting is a good starting point for overall goal achievement because it gives you something to aim for. Or in Seneca’s words, it gives you a harbor to go to.

When setting new goals use the following smart acronym as your best practice to reach the desired outcome.  

SMART stands for:

• Specific Goals – when you set goals define a specific outcome for each goal.
• Measurable Goals – baseline data is important for understanding how much you want to improve and how you will measure success, also known as key performance indicators.
• Attainable Goals – ensures that you have the intrinsic motivation to complete the goal.
• Realistic Goals – appropriate goal needs to be reasonable and not in conflict with any of your other goals.
• Time Sensitive Goals – ensures that you set specific time frame and have a target date for completing the goal.

When setting a goal all of the s.m.a.r.t. goals criteria need to be met to make the goal achievable.  In addition to regular goals pertaining to work, or physical world, consider using this framework for setting behavior goals to develop a new habit. Behavior goals are also known as habits or virtues.

There’s some end at last for the man who follows a path; mere rambling is interminable. – Seneca

You could easily say that you want to develop a new habit and start tracking it. However, as Seneca points out, if you do not have a clear definition of what a completed goal looks like, you will never be able to reach it.  

Examples of SMART Goals

If the SMART criteria seems overwhelming, you are not alone. We created a simplified version of SMART goal creation using simple questions you can answer to set the perfect goals. The free downloadable worksheet is the ultimate goal setting framework that will take you step by step through creating the perfect SMART goal. Behavior change begins with good behavior goals. 

To get the full benefit of the Effluo Goal Setting and Goal Achievement Framework you can purchase Effluo Quarterly Planner that will take you step by step towards your goal achievement and behavioral goal setting.

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. – Seneca

Example of SMART Behavior Goals – Positive Thinking

As an example, let us review the ‘positive thinking’ goal set up.

Specific: Every time I tell myself something negative, I will stop and write it down along with something positive about myself, I will review the written down things on daily basis so that I can start working towards my goal of positive thinking (Why?) so that I can become a successful person and live a happier life.

Realistic and Attainable: Answer all of the questions on the PDF to determine if the goal is realistic and attainable.  It is truly my goal, it is not in conflict with my other goals, I can see myself reaching this goal … etc.

Measurable and Time Bound: I will not judge myself for having written down the negative things but will focus on decreasing the number of negative things I write by 80%. (Measurable) I will keep a habit tracker checking that I review the written down items. (Time Bound) By end of three months I will review the progress made and celebrate my accomplishment.

Let us jump into the different behaviors necessary for achieving success. You can use the downloaded PDF to create goals related to the behaviors.

5 SMART Behavior Goals Necessary To Achieve Success According to Seneca

1 Positive Thinking

A man’s as miserable as he thinks he is. – Seneca

Your actions are the results of your thoughts.  Good thoughts lead to calm body, positive behaviors, and healthy emotional state. Positive self-talk is not just the affirmations that you repeat, it is the belief that you are good enough to achieve your dreams.  

Often goals are not reached because they are never started.  If you want to achieve success you need to begin with positive thinking.  Having a balanced emotional state is critical to success.  A person that believes that nothing will work out, will most likely not even attempt to work towards their goal achievement.

Logically, if you think about it, they are your dreams, not someone else’s. Therefore, you are the one who is destined to achieve them.  However, if you do not believe in yourself, you will not even attempt to reach your dreams.

You will begin to believe that the size of the problem is too large, or that it requires too much time, etc.

Therefore, this concept of positive thinking is not just about looking at the world through rose-colored lenses, it is an inherent belief in your own abilities of achieving your goals and dreams.

Positive Thinking Leads to ‘Can Do’ Attitude

There is nothing so wretched or foolish as to anticipate misfortunes. What madness is it in expecting evil before it arrives? –  Seneca

Another thing to watch out for is inaction due to fear. With negative thinking, you will only focus on what can go wrong. With positive thinking, you will be able to anticipate things that can go wrong and know that you have the tools and will be able to overcome them.

Paralysis, or inaction, due to fear of failure is not an option for a positive-thinking person. In other words, if there is a will there is a way. And its the positive thinking that provides the will.

Seneca teaches us to face the problems as they come up and deal with them at that time.  In other words, focus on the now as tomorrow will take care of itself. By the time you get to the specific problem you will be ready to face it.  

To become unstoppable, you need to believe that you can be.

2 Fearlessness

Courage leads starward, fear toward death. –  Seneca

The second culprit of failures is fear. Success often means lifestyle change, stressful situations and other different types of changes that can bring on the effect of fear.   

It is difficult to admit, but too often our life is driven not by our dreams, but controlled by our fears.  

Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.  – Seneca

Life will throw many different problems in your way. The key is not to fall victim to the worst side effect of fear, inaction. It can be either a little problem or a big problem, regardless of which, inaction is the worst side effect of fear. 

Inaction manifests itself in many different forms. It can be procrastination, task avoidance, or general busyness. You may end up finding yourself very busy doing the things that are not important, while putting aside the tasks that you really should be focusing on.

Let us be brave in the face of adversity. – Seneca

The best way to face fear is to admit to yourself that it exists. Then use self-regulation strategies to address the root cause of the fear.  As you address the root cause of the fear and you will be able to determine the appropriate emotional response to it.

Identify what you are afraid of and create SMART Goals around facing your fears.

3 Giving

No man can live happily who regards himself alone, who turns everything to his own advantage. Thou must live for another if thou wishest to live for thyself. – Seneca

Regardless of your definition of success, it seems that all of the great business books and successful people continually emphasize the importance of this specific characteristic.  Seneca would agree with this notion one hundred percent.  If you want to live a happy and successful life think of people other than yourself. 

When setting personal goals for success it might be tempting to focus on what specifically you will receive from it.  However, according to Seneca it is important to identify what benefits other people may receive from your success.  By building ‘giving‘ into your success strategy you not only ensure your success, but you also create a happier life for yourself.

Let us say you decided to open a new business. You’ve set a clear objective, developed a business plan, and decided that it is truly a feasible venue. In whatever business you chose to open you will need to create value for a customer. Creating this valuable experience, or thing, will help you become successful.

Without giving something of value you cannot reach success.

If you want to take it a step further, you can get involved in philanthropic endeavors for the betterment of society. All of this will not only enrich your life but will give you the knowledge that you are truly making a difference. 

4 Gratefulness

Unhappy is the man, though he rule the world, who doesn’t consider himself supremely blessed. – Seneca

In this specific statement Seneca really identified the true impediment to achieving success, and that is ungratefulness.  He said that if you rule the world but do not consider yourself supremely blessed [a.k.a. grateful], you will not be able to consider yourself successful.  

Being grateful for your achievements changes your mindset, you begin to recognize your ability to succeed and develop a belief that you truly are able to achieve anything you set your mind on.

In other words keep dreaming big, but do make sure to stop and consider everything that you have already achieved.  

The emphasis that Seneca continued to make is on the mindset.  Without the mindset of gratefulness, it is truly difficult to recognize the success that you already achieved.  

Knowing that you have achieved so much and having that recognition will give you the energy to move forward. 

Not he who has little, but he who wishes more, is poor. – Seneca

Make it a practice to not only practice gratefulness for your family members and all of the available resources at your disposal. But also, be grateful for the achievements that you were able to make. Doing this will give you the energy and the will power to continue your journey.

5 Growth Mindset

To win true freedom you must be a slave to philosophy. A person who surrenders and subjects himself to her doesn’t have his application deferred from day to day; he’s emancipated on the spot, the very service of philosophy being freedom. – Seneca

In his writings Seneca refers to philosophy as knowledge and wisdom.  Knowledge base is gained through education and wisdom is gained through experience.  Success goes hand in hand with growth mindset and academic success.

To become successful, you need to develop a growth mindset. This means that you invest the time needed into education. Read books about the subjects that will meet your definition of success. Learn from the experts in your areas of expertise.  Watch videos and attend classes. Do not stop learning and growing.

In addition to learning, gain experience. Continually practice what you are learning, make mistakes and learn from them. Set specific goals related to learning new subjects and expanding your current level of knowledge. Reach your new heights.

Summary of 5 Behavior Goals Necessary to Achieve Success According to Seneca 

The man who is master of himself is the master of all – Seneca

To become successful in whatever you set your mind to, you need to ensure that your habits, behaviors, and beliefs are aligned with the right characteristics. Seneca’s list of necessary characteristics is as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.

1 Positive Thinking 

2 Fearlessness

3 Giving 

4 Gratefulness

5 Growth Mindset

Take the time to think through your personal characteristics and use the provided free downloadable PDF to set goals around the areas you would like to develop.

Achieve your success and become the person you are meant to be by mastering self.

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