Do SMART goals actually work? No.
A 2022 systematic review published in Health Psychology Review analysed 147 studies on goal-setting in health contexts and found zero evidence that SMART goals outperform other approaches.
In this episode, certified health coach Noemie Mooney breaks down why the world’s most popular goal framework was never tested, never validated, and may actively be getting in your way.
So why do your goals keep failing?
I’ll walk you through the science of what actually works: process goals (which outperform outcome goals in research), intrinsic motivation and self-concordance theory, implementation intentions (what I call “Rooted Routines”), and why borrowed goals — goals that look right on paper but don’t connect to your values — may be the real reason you keep quitting.
This is Part 2 of The Spring Clear-Out series.
In this episode:
Why SMART goals have zero scientific evidence (and the wild origin story behind them)
What is a “borrowed goal” and how to tell if your goals are actually yours
Process goals vs outcome goals: what the research says about which one works
What are implementation intentions? How “Rooted Routines” use habit stacking to build lasting change
The cognitive distortion link: why outcome goals are an all-or-nothing trap
How to set goals that actually stick without worksheets, deadlines, or willpower
Chapters:
[00:00] Do SMART goals actually work?
[02:19] SMART goals have never worked for me either
[03:15] The origin story: George Doran, 1981, a water company memo
[04:46] If SMART doesn’t work, what does?
[05:40] Borrowed goals: why you keep chasing someone else’s life
[06:53] Shift 1: process goals vs outcome goals
[07:53] Shift 2: Rooted Routines and why the “after” matters
[09:28] Your experiment: write one Rooted Routine this week
Mentioned in this episode:
George Doran: “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives” (Management Review, 1981)
Health Psychology Review: systematic review of 147 studies on SMART goals in health contexts (2022)
Self-concordance theory: why goals aligned with your values sustain effort and improve wellbeing
Implementation intentions: the psychological research behind “if-then” planning and habit stacking
Previous episode: The Audacity of Your Own Brain — cognitive distortions and all-or-nothing thinking (The Spring Clear-Out Part 1)
Your experiment for this week:
Pick one area where you keep starting and stopping. Forget measuring it. Forget deadlines. Ask yourself: does this actually matter to me? Then write one Rooted Routine using this format: “After I [existing habit], I will [tiny action].” Put it somewhere visible. Do it for two weeks. That’s the whole experiment.
“You don’t need a worksheet. You need a goal that’s actually yours, rooted to something you already do.”
What’s your Rooted Routine? What are you anchoring, and to what?
Noemie x
