The generally accepted way of formulating goals with the S.M.A.R.T. method offers many advantages, and I definitely see the benefit of this. However, I also see a downside.

With a focus on a specific goal, which is achieved in a specific way at a well-defined point, where everything culminates in a one-time event, it is easy to look in the rearview mirror and learn from this specific journey. Two things bother me about that.

The first is that it is a one-time recipe. It is a one-time behavior, or a behavior during a well-defined time, for a specific purpose towards a specific goal. The behavior can be judged as good or bad depending on how well the goal was achieved, and lessons can be learned from those perspectives.

I miss the long term continuity in this. To approach a behavior and routines in order to get things done, refine behaviors and reassess choices and methods along the journey, and actually focus on making the journey as good as possible, rather than evaluating every single part of the journey. In every moment, make the long-term commitment in traveling, and let it enrich and give more than every single individual moment. I value when the long term commitment is promoted and prioritized over the short term.

The second is precisely that they are one-time events. When each thing is done, the hunt for the next begins. Then the next. For some, it means many different and unrelated things. For others, the next thing is a natural continuation of the previous one. But it is easy to get distracted and lose focus from the here and now, lose focus from the long term. Each individual thing becomes its own profit (which is nice and worth celebrating) but easily becomes isolated islands.

The S.M.A.R.T. method is good for me in limited contexts, such as a project, and possibly as a tool for small sub-goals in large long-term flows and visions. From the perspective of personal development, I believe more in cultivating behaviors and making consistent choices and letting that be the engine of change and letting it drive the result and letting the result be a consequence of the choices and behaviors that feel right, rather than having to compromise with choices and behaviors to reach a specific goal.