personal growth – Page 3 – Ruthann M. Wilson

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?

*SMART concept created by George Doran

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.

Thank you for pausing here. If something in this writing resonated with you or sparked a shift, I would love to know what spoke to you. You’re welcome to follow along for future posts, subscribe to the newsletter, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,
Ruthann

Copyright © Ruthann M. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.

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Create a New Chapter in Your Life: Release what limits, nurture what empowers

A new year provides us with the opportunity to begin a new chapter in our lives. We open the door to new opportunities and new beginnings when we release thoughts and beliefs that limit us and replace them with those that enrich, expand, empower, and enable us to create the kind of lives and world that we truly desire.

Our minds are fertile ground. The seeds we choose to plant, and nurture will take root and blossom in our lives.

I invite you to join me in planting “seeds” of unity, peace, love, compassion, and joy. Commit to nurturing these seeds on a daily basis through your thoughts, words, and actions to enrich your life, the lives of others, and the world.

Pause for a moment and ask yourself: What seed will I plant today? Each day is a page in the chapter you are writing. Choose words and actions that align with the life you desire.

Release what limits, nurture what empowers, trust what unfolds.

You’re welcome to follow the blog to receive notifications of new posts, subscribe to the mailing list to receive new posts and updates directly to your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,
Ruthann

Navigating Change and Life Transitions: Reflection Practices for Clarity

If you have read my book, you know there is a recurring theme that the nature of life is change and transition for the purpose of growth and evolution. Change is an inevitable and necessary element of life. It can be self-initiated or the result of external factors that might be out of our control (e.g., death of a loved one, loss of a job, health crisis, economy, sociopolitical environment).

Change is difficult whether we initiate it or not because it requires us to release/let go of something or someone and venture into the unknown. The unknown can be exciting or frightening depending on your perspective. Being able to reflect on the changes and transitions that have occurred in our lives enables us to learn and grow from our experiences.

As a part of my year-end process, I look back at the changes that occurred over the course of the year. I put the changes into two categories: 1) changes that I proactively initiated and 2) changes that were in response to external factors. I look at them separately for two reasons: 1) I am committed to personal growth and it is a way to hold myself accountable and 2) I recognize that some events/circumstances are out of my control, however, they provide me with an opportunity to learn more about myself, as well as others, and make changes accordingly.

PowerPoint Presentation I invite you to look back on the year in the context of the changes that occurred in your life. Look back with the following questions in mind.

What did you learn?
How did you grow?
What did you do for the first time this year? How did it make you feel?
Did you proactively initiate any changes in your life? If not, why not?
What did you learn about yourself and others as a result of external factors that were out of your direct control?

If your desire is to create your life from the inside out, commit to setting goals and proactively making changes in your life. Choose how to respond to external factors that are out of your control and stay focused on your goals.

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Visualize Your Future: The Power of Vision Boards

A vision board is a visual representation of your desired outcomes. It is a powerful tool for staying focused and bringing your goals to life through the use of words, images, and symbols.

Your vision board can represent what you desire for your life overall, be specific to a life area (e.g., health and fitness, career, relationships, etc.) or a quality that you would like to magnify in your life (e.g., peace, love, joy, etc.). The key is to include words, images, and symbols that are meaningful to you. Keep your board where you can see it on a daily basis. It will serve as a visual reminder of what you would like to manifest in your life.

In my post, Be Intentional, I encouraged you to spend some time thinking about and visualizing where you would like to be in the next three months. I invite you to create a vision board that represents what you visualized for your life three months from now or whatever time frame works best for you.

What you will need:

Your goals/desired outcomes (click here to read about SMART goals)
Poster board, cork board, or large piece of paper
Glue, tape, push pins (depending on the type of board you are using)
Words, images, and symbols that you cut out of magazines and/or download from the internet
Colored pens and/or markers for handwritten words and/or images
Scissors

Alternatively, you may also decide to create a digital vision board via software or app.

There is no right or wrong way to create your board. It is a creative process that produces a visual representation of what you would like to manifest in your life. Have fun and enjoy the process! Search the internet to see examples of vision boards (also known as treasure maps). The link below will take you to Google images for vision boards.

Google images for vision boards

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You are welcome to follow the blog to receive new reflections, subscribe to the mailing list for updates in your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,
Ruthann