SMART Goals: Bring Your Desires to Life

This post was inspired by a mini-workshop that I recently conducted on creating goals, in particular, SMART* goals. The acronym SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound.

Setting goals is a way to bring your desires to life. Goals enable you to go from hoping and wishing to manifesting what you truly desire.

If you work in a business setting, you are more than likely used to setting and achieving goals related to your role/position. However, most people don’t have personal goals (e.g., career, relationship, financial, etc.) that are specific and written down. It is estimated that only 3% of people have written goals.

Time is one of your most precious resources. The SMART approach is a great way to create written goals and structure your time.

Questions to consider as you create each goal:

Specific: What exactly will you accomplish?
Measurable: How will you know when you have reached your goal?
Attainable: Is your goal challenging, yet attainable?
Relevant: Is your goal clearly linked to your values/what matters most?
Time-bound: By what date will you accomplish your goal?

If there is something that you are hoping/wishing to accomplish “someday”, make today the day you give it a deadline, create a plan, and put your plan into action.

Consider using images and/or symbols as visual reminders of your desired outcome (click here to see my post on vision boards).

Work toward your goals, but don’t be attached to a particular outcome. Being attached to a specific outcome can get in the way of you receiving an even bigger blessing than the one you had in mind.

SMART goals aren’t just a personal practice — they’re also a cornerstone of career success. When you set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time‑bound goals, you create clarity and focus that drive both professional achievement and personal fulfillment.

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All the best,

Ruthann

*SMART concept created by George Doran