How To Set DUMB Goals

Goal setting is a beneficial component to success. However, many people fail to realize how important it is to their future. Setting DUMB goals, or any other type of goals, can help you in numerous ways.


They can help you develop better behaviors and they can also improve your focus while building momentum towards your objectives.

When striving for success, setting clear-cut goals will help you along. You’ll also need to know how to set these goals to ensure you achieve them successfully. Goal setting involves planning and execution to ensure you meet your targets.

When it comes to goal setting, you should follow several rules. For instance, you should set goals that motivate you to work hard and push you towards achieving them.

As the benefits of goal setting become more recognized, the methods to do so are being further developed. DUMB goals may have a place in your goal setting and it’s important to understand them. Here is a further look at what DUMB goals are.

What are DUMB Goals?

DUMB goals refer to ambitions that you set out to accomplish by understanding and relying on your mission, vision, inspiration, motivation, behavior, and standard practices in life.


These goals primarily focus on personal and career objectives. Additionally, they rely on your passion and energy to encourage you to attain your goals.

The term DUMB goals doesn’t speak of poor goals. Instead, the acronym is broken down into parts.

Dream-Driven:

This aspect means that these goals are mainly influenced and powered by your dreams and passions. DUMB goals are typically a result of dreaming big and being confident in your exciting and challenging ambitions.

Uplifting:

These goals inspire you to be excited about achieving your objectives. The positive feelings help give you purpose and drive to fulfill your desires. These goals primarily focus on how fantastic the future can be once you’ve attained your goals.

Method Friendly:

DUMB goals rely on plans and practices that serve as the roadmap to realizing your ambitions. For instance, having the proper knowledge of accessing and using financial services can help you achieve your financial goals. You create habits around working towards your goal.

Behaviour Driven:

This characteristic means that these goals are intertwined with methods/processes that are habitual or part of your behavior. Therefore, you begin treating your goals as habits until they become one. In this way, your habitual behavior becomes the driving force behind your dreams.

DUMB Goals Vs. SMART Goals

As setting goals can be done using different systems, another popular and highly recommended acronym is SMART. As SMART goals are often referred to when discussing goal setting, it’s worth looking at the differences when related to DUMB goals.


SMART goals refer to objectives requiring Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-related ambitions. Since SMART goals differ widely from DUMB goals, four major differences exist.

1. The goal-setting period

SMART goals are ideal for short-term and specific objectives, whereas DUMB goals are better suited for long-term, open targets. Additionally, SMART goals tend to have a definite time frame to attain them, whereas DUMB goals lack this time-bound period. As the first letter states, dreaming big is important and that doesn’t happen overnight.

2. Ideal financial status for goal setting

If finances aren’t a major concern, you’ll have time to start formulating your DUMB goals. However, if you’re fresh out of college or have significant responsibilities, such as having a baby, it would be best to formulate SMART goals. Not having a timeline means that these goals may not come to fruition in the near future.

3. The realism of goals

Before you set any SMART goals, you should always analyze whether they are realistic. In this case, you need to use past experiences and come up with feasible objectives. On the other hand, DUMB goals don’t necessarily require you to have realistic ambitions.

As long as these goals meet the DUMB criteria, you can formulate and execute plans to achieve them. Dream big means just that.

4. The driving force behind the goals

Your passion and dreams serve as the motivating factors towards achieving DUMB goals. However, in SMART goals, tracking the progress of your targets is what will help you stay focused and excited to achieve your goals. Needing income or looking to learn a skill quickly will thrive under the SMART system.

DUMB Goals Examples

If you wish to create DUMB goals and don’t know where to start, here are two excellent examples of these Dream-driven, Uplifting, Method-friendly, and Behavior-driven goals.

1. Becoming a Millionaire

If your dream is to become rich one day, or perhaps a millionaire, consider making it a DUMB goal. By using this dream as the driving force, you can motivate yourself to devise ways to make money, such as starting a business when you’re ready. Growing this business may get you to the dream, but not necessarily in a specific time period that has been pre-set.

2. Increasing your Savings

If you wish to increase your savings over time, consider making it a DUMB goal. With your final objective in mind, you can find systematic ways of increasing your savings per month/ year.

Additionally, you can develop habits such as couponing and eating at home to reduce costs. These could fall under the SMART category if you want to get into specifics, or you can leave it open as part of the dream and then create the habits and methods that will get you there.

Why Set DUMB Goals?

DUMB goals tap into your passion, habits, and energy to help you achieve your ambitions. Although these goals aren’t as clear-cut as SMART goals, they offer a larger-than-life perspective to setting goals.

By: Robert | November 24, 2021 |