Stop, Start, Continue Goal Setting Method

Setting goals, shouldn’t just be about what you want to achieve. It should also be about seeing how far you’ve come. 

The “Stop, Start, Continue” model of goal setting isn’t new, but it is often overlooked in favour of the “SMART” method of making goals. I was first introduced to the “Start, Stop, Continue” back in my competitive curling days during a team building workshop. It made a lot of sense to use with teams because it allows all members to have input and say on many aspects of goals, but it can also work well for an individual to guide them in behaviour changes.

There are three main components to this approach: Stop, Start, and Continue.

Stop: what behaviours or actions aren’t working/no longer working and should be stopped?

Start: what behaviours or actions should begin to ensure success or move towards a goal or desired behaviour?

Continue: what behaviours or actions are currently successful/working and should be kept going?

While I do like the “SMART” method of making goals, I often feel like my goals can feel disconnected from one another or each are made independent from each other. The SSC method allows you to also include things that are already working in your life and behaviours that are already successful. By looking also at what is currently working, you can see if there are certain things such as list making or early morning routines, that could continually be used to introduce new desired behaviours to your life.

The “Stop, Start, Continue” model also allows you to jump around as you are making your goals, similar to a brainstorming session with yourself, instead of making you think linearly about each specific behaviour you want to change. Because if you are like me, making a goal about fitness all of a sudden reminds me of nutrition, which turns into personal care. If you take out a piece of paper (or 3), write the category of each of the “Stop, Start, Continue” at the top, then you can go into full brain storm mode, without feeling limited to figure out your whole goal at once. After writing out your goals, you can easily reorganize them into categories (such as nutrition, fitness, sleep, etc) and then use the SMART method to fully flesh out any goals that need a more expanded framework.

And be writing all your goals out, you can continually re-visit your goals throughout the next couple months and adjust them as you see fit! Now that is good goal setting!