Overcome Stagnation Using ‘GROW with SMART Maqasid’

The GROW model is a four-step process to set realistic goals and how to achieve them. It is used for coaching and mentoring to ensure traceable progress.

There are some coaching questions for each of the four steps:

• GOAL: What is your life goal? What do you need to achieve?
• REASON & REALITY: Why is it important? Where are you now?
• OBSTACLE & OPTION: How can you achieve your goal? What’s stopping me? 
• WILL & WAY FORWARD: What will you do next? When will you do it?

For effective goal setting, the SMART criteria are used. It is a mnemonic that stands for:

• S – Specific
• M – Measurable
• A – Achievable
• R – Realistic
• T – Timely

For example, you have an initial goal “I want to save for Hajj.”

The goal can be clearer and SMART-er, “I saved $25,000 for Hajj in 10 years (by 2035)”.  

The word Maqasid mean purposes, objectives, and intentions. The Maqasid al-Shari’ah refers to the higher objectives of the divine Shari’ah, showing us the right ways of life.

Maqasid al-Shari’ah can be divided into five categories: the preservation and promotion of FAITH, LIFE, MIND, FAMILY, and WEALTH. There are other classifications, including honor and happiness.³ However, the Maqasid are limited to the main five for pragmatic purposes during the coaching sessions.

Coachees need to have at least five goals to achieve, one for each category. For example,

• Faith: I prayed Tahajjud every Friday night
• Life: I exercised 150 minutes every week
• Mind: I read one new book per month
• Family: I spent quality time with my family once a week
• Wealth: I saved $25,000 for Hajj in 10 years (by 2035)

Having goals for each category can help to ensure a balanced progression. An unbalanced person overlooks or delays achieving some goals over others, e.g. focusing on studying over healthy living, working over family bonding, and spending time with others over investing in oneself.

During a typical coaching session, we ask the coachee to examine their own lives in these five categories. Coachees are forced to think hard about what they need in their life. This is instead of focusing on what they think they want, which can be endless.  

• Coaching question: What do you need to achieve?
• Pitfall: Often, the goals are not SMART enough to spur actions. In this case, the coach can help to make the goals to be SMART-er.

Regarding these intentions and goals, it is important to know the big Why’s. This is where the heart’s intention can be linked to the higher purposes or objectives (Maqasid) of the Shari’ah .

• Coaching question: Are your goals linked to the Qur’an and the Sunnah?

Once the goals are set and clear, the coaching process goes to the next stage to examine the current reality. This stage takes stock of the coachee’s existing achievements and capabilities. These are useful to help us in our journey onward, despite the future challenges ahead.

• Coaching question: Where are you now?

After recognizing the end goals and the current position, the next part is to find out how to get there. The coachee then develops these options, while the coach ensures the focus is maintained. This stage is important for the coachee to generate options for ownership and self-empowerment.

• Coaching question: How can you achieve your goal?
• Pitfall: There can be many options to achieve our goals. Sometimes, we get overwhelmed by these many options, leading to inaction. To manage this, list the Top 3 options to set priorities. Choose the ones that are exciting and energizing.

Even after setting goals, this does not automatically mean it will manifest. There are potential obstacles along the way. This step is to help the coachee be aware of some of these obstacles and obstructions.

• Coaching question: What’s stopping you?

Now is the time to materialize the very next step. The coach is there to help take the immediate next step towards materializing goals.

• Coaching question: What’s the very next physical action?
• Pitfall: The way forward can be weak, soft and unrealistic. As much as possible, we like to be still within our comfort zone. However, this comfort can also limit our potential. In this case, the coach can challenge to push for better actions, but be mindful of the coachee’s limits.