Smith, 22, competed at London 2012, claimed Commonwealth gold at Glasgow 2014 and was the favourite for GB's sole female weightlifting place in Rio.
However, she dislocated her shoulder during the GB trials and selectors opted for rising-star Rebekah Tiler.
"I don't want to ever miss out again," Smith told BBC Sport.
She travelled to out to the 2008 Beijing Games as part of the British Olympic Association's athlete ambition programme for youngsters who have the potential to compete in future Olympics.
Four years later she fulfilled that promise and set a new British record en-route to a 11th-place finish, but her Rio dreams ended after undergoing surgery on her injured shoulder.
"The summer was bitter sweet for me," she said. "It was amazing to see Team GB do so well, but being stuck on a sofa watching it from afar was a little painful.
"My injury rehab is going well, but I've not lifted since June - had surgery in July.
"I'm still very much looking forward to the Commonwealth Games and I'm going to do everything in my power to qualify and try to defend my title."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Smith - a two-time Commonwealth medallist - has been named as one of Commonwealth Games England's (CGE) 25 athlete ambassadors for the 2018 Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
Backed by £4m of Sport England funding CGE are planning to send the largest and best-prepared team to an overseas Commonwealth Games ever.
As part of the package offered to each of the sport will be access to their Brisbane-based for 10 days in the build-up to the Games in April 2018.
"The support we receive is amazing and there was a big difference between 2010 to 2014 as they listen to athletes," said Smith.
"The village [in Glasgow] had all the facilities we need, as it will in Australia and I owe a lot a lot of the success I've had in the Games to that."

Marice Hall, Karen McGee and Lesley Leake work at a Kinsley primary school near Wakefield. They said pay had been cut since it became an academy.
After the contract moved from Wakefield Council to private company C&D Cleaning pensions, holiday and sick pay had also been cut, they said.
C&D said it was seeking to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
About 100 people marched in Barnsley, where C&D is based, from the Town Hall to the town centre.
The three women have been on strike since the beginning of September, with the union Unison taking the employer to an employment tribunal.
Lesley Leake said: "We had just had enough, we were sick of going home and crying to our partners.
"It has been scary, but we have just got to go to the end and see how it turns out."
Marice Hall said: "We love our little job and we just want to carry on with our normal lives and go back to work."
Robin Symonds, regional organiser for Unison, said: "It's probably the worst example that I've ever seen, and I've seen some pretty bad examples of low-paid workers who have had their jobs outsourced being thrown to the wolves by greedy employers".
In a statement, a spokesperson for C&D said: "C&D were not provided with crucial information at the point of transfer of the three employees.
"We will not conduct a public discussion over the issues, as they are and will be dealt with in an appropriate manner.
"C&D is actively seeking, as it has all along, to resolve this matter as quickly as possible."

And his favourite is one of the scariest and most well known, the Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Prince George's Mum, Kate Middleton, revealed to children which dinosaur was his favourite during a visit to the Natural History Museum.
She said "George loves the T Rex because it's the noisiest and the scariest."
Kate was visiting the museum for a special children's tea party being held to say goodbye to Dippy the Dinosaur.
Dippy is the museum's most easily recognised exhibit, a massive 21.3m model of a Diplodocus skeleton and was presented to the museum more than 115 years ago!
It is being packed up and sent on a tour of the UK, so every piece must be labelled and packed away. A job that's about as big as dippy is!
Weightlifter Zoe Smith insists the "pain" of missing the Rio Olympics is providing her with 'huge motivation' to return to the sport.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
A march has taken place backing three striking cleaners who say their wages and employment benefits have been cut.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
We all love dinosaurs and Prince George is no exception.