Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals For Your Hair

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals is a must to reach success. Whether it be planning for a new diet or making a plan for a career, in the end you must be goal oriented. Your hair is no exception to this rule.

We all have dreams of healthy, long, and luscious hair. From experience, we have found out that achieving such a goal does not happen overnight. Especially since most of the time is spent trying to figure out what our hair actually likes.

Once we find out that crucial element to the puzzle, we can begin putting a plan in place for the next milestone.

Specific

The first thing to take into consideration when making a S.M.A.R.T. goal is that it has to be specific. Saying you want to have long hair and leaving it at that simply is not good enough.

Yes, a goal of long hair is achievable, but you are selling yourself a dream if you are not specific with your demands. However , saying you want to have waist length hair by the end of 2016 is much better.

When you put a “what” and “when” to your goal you are more likely to stay focused when achieving it. I didn’t focus on my hair goals until I did this. I would make sure I kept up on my deep conditions and protein treatments so I was sure to achieve my goal.

Measurable

When you make goals for your hair you have to make sure it is measurable. This simply means track your progress! Buy a length check online – there’re plenty to choose from! Another option is making your own. This can be done by grabbing an old t-shirt, a sharpie, and a tape measure.

Make sure the lines are evenly spaced and visible. If you are not measuring your length and opt to measure the health of your hair instead take note of how your wash days go.

Are you noticing decreased breaking and shedding? Do you notice increased thickness? How does your hair feel? Is it dry? Asking yourself these questions can help you determine if you are taking the right steps to reaching your hair goals. So take lots of pictures while on your hair journey and the progress will speak for itself.

Attainable

When you are working to make your hair goal attainable you are setting a plan in place to make it happen. The example I used earlier about being waist length by 2016 is the goal that is trying to be achieved.

How do you plan to make this happen? Think about what changes you will need to make in order to reach your goal. Perhaps you need to up your moisturizing  and sealing to twice a day.

Maybe even venture off to the protective style realm of things. Experiment and see what works for you. While everything may not work that you try, you will be one step closer to understanding your hair in the long run.

Realistic

Black women with long hair is no longer seen as a myth! Of course, you wanting your hair to achieve long and healthy lengths is realistic. But make no mistake, it will take a lot of hard work and dedication.

Your hair idols you follow on the blogs and Youtube had high motivation to get where they are today. That is the same motivation you need to achieve your hair goals. Yes, it will be a tough grueling process but it will all be worth it in the end. Your tresses will thank you!

Timebound

Well you have your goal set and it is almost perfect. Last thing you must make sure of is if it is achievable in a timely manner. In other words, it has to make sense.

Think about it. If you are ear length now, and want to achieve waist length hair, do you think you will meet goal by the end of 2016. Probably not, considering  hair grows on average between 1/4 and 1/2 inch a month. The goal you set must all tie together.

When I make hair goals I like to focus on the last two elements of making a S.M.A.R.T goal, which is having it be realistic and attainable.

Personally, I put myself on six month challenges and do small check ups for progress every two months or so. For example, my goal is to be MBL by the end of this Summer. I made this goal at the beginning of January. I have done mini length checks twice and see I have been making progress.

The purpose of a S.M.A.R.T. goal for your hair is not to make your life harder by any means. It is just another way to hold yourself accountable. Don’t let yourself be a limitation to your goals. If you can believe it, you can achieve it!