Using S.M.A.R.T. Goals to Help You Obtain Your Vision

Having a personal vision is essential to leading a fulfilling life. A vision provides direction and purpose, helping you to set goals and stay motivated. However, a vision is not something that can simply be pulled out of thin air. In order to be effective, it needs to be specific. That means that your goals should be clearly defined, and your plan for achieving them should be well thought out. While this may seem like a lot of work, taking the time to develop a strong personal vision will pay off in the long run by being the guiding light when sometimes us women feel lost. With a clear sense of what you want to achieve, you'll be better equipped to make better decisions, stay on track, and ultimately achieve your dreams.

In our previous blog, 5 Effective Ways to Create Your Vision, we outlined useful tools that will help you develop your vision. In our experience, each person has their own way to develop their vision. Finding the way that works for you will be the first step in building a long-term roadmap for yourself.

After you have found the tool that works for you, now it is time to use an effective strategy to bring those visions to life. In our practice, we recommend using the S.M.A.R.T. goal system.

A SMART goal is used to help guide the goal-setting of your vision. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Therefore, a SMART goal incorporates all of these attributes to assist focus your efforts and increase the chances of achieving your goals within your vision.

Specific

Being specific with your goals helps give your more clarity on what you want to accomplish. Maybe you are looking to lose weight to feel healthier. A specific goal would be to lose 20 pounds. The more specific, the better.

Measurable

Enabling a way for you to track the progress of your goal shows you how effective you are at accomplishing your goal. Making goals without metrics of success can be discouraging since accomplishments are not as clear. For example, maybe you want to eat healthier and reduce the amount of fast food you purchase. Making a clear and measurable goal of only purchasing fast food once a month will help set the metric of success.

Achievable

Being able to attain the goal is an important part of the visioning process. Recognizing what is needed to reach this goal will help you build out your plan to accomplish the goal. Reviewing current resources or additional things needed is key to making the action plan clear.

Relevant

Committing to a goal that is realistic is an important part of the process. Setting the bar too high, like defeating your social anxiety in one month's time could put too much pressure on yourself. Good goals that are reasonable to accomplish are set up to challenge you over a healthy period of time.

Time-bound

This attribute is our favorite! Make sure there are specific deadlines attached to your goals. This helps keep you on track and gives a realistic visual as to when the goal should be finished. Without a sense of urgency, a goal will just get accomplished when we feel like it. Attaching a start and finish date is a sure way to keep you moving toward the finish line.

Are you ready to start your S.M.A.R.T goals? Great, we have an easy-to-use worksheet to help you get your vision into action!

5 Effective Ways to Create Your Vision

A personal vision can act as a roadmap for your life. It is a way to articulate your deepest values and aspirations, and it can help you to make choices that are in alignment with your long-term goals. Without a personal vision, it is all too easy to get caught up in the weeds of day-to-day living and lose sight of what is truly important to you. Having a personal vision can help you to stay focused and motivated, even when times are tough. It can also give you a sense of purpose and direction, making it easier to set goals and make plans for your future.

Women who decide on their vision are proven to achieve more of their inner desires. Building your vision can be accomplished in many ways. Visioning is a very personal journey and it is up to you to find the way that works best for you. Below we have listed five ways to help ignite your ideas and creativity.

Journaling Many people find that one of the best ways to get in touch with their personal goals and aspirations is to keep a journal. Writing down your thoughts and feelings on a regular basis can help you to clarify your thoughts and gain a better understanding of who you are and what you want out of life. In addition, journaling can be a great way to track your progress over time and see how far you've come. As you look back on your entries, you may be surprised at how much your goals have changed or how much you've accomplished. Keeping a journal is an excellent way to create a personal vision for your life and ensure that you're always moving towards your goals.

Planner Having a planner is another great way to start developing a personal vision. By planning out your days, weeks, and months, you can begin to see patterns emerge in your behavior and thinking. This process can help you identify your goals and values, and start to develop a plan for how to achieve them. In addition, seeing your thoughts and plans laid out in a visual format can help to motivation and focus. As you begin to check off items on your list, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment that will fuel your desire to continue working towards your goals. A planner can also give a sense of urgency with the ability to make deadlines for certain goals. It helps make consistent action a common behavior.

Vision Boards A vision board is a powerful tool that can help you to create a vision for your life. By collecting images and words that represent your goals, you can begin to visualize what you want to achieve. The process of creating a vision board can also help you to clarify your goals and intentions. As you consider what you want to include on your board, you'll likely find yourself thinking more deeply about what you truly want to achieve. In addition, the act of physically putting together your vision board can help to bring your personal vision to life. Seeing your goals and dreams represented in a tangible way can inspire you to take action and turn your vision into reality. Whether you're looking to make some changes in your career or personal life, creating a vision board is a great place to start.

Poetry Poetry has been known to have the ability to help us see the world in new and unexpected ways. By forcing us to distill our thoughts into concise language, poetry can help us to find clarity in our chaotic lives. In addition, poetry can be a powerful tool for self-expression, allowing us to explore our innermost thoughts and feelings. And finally, poetry can help us to connect with others, offering a shared experience of emotions and ideas. Through its ability to challenge and inspire us, poetry can help us to create a personal vision of the world that is both unique and deeply meaningful.

Speech

A personal vision is a guiding force that can help you navigate through life's challenges and choices. While your vision may change and evolve over time, they can provide a sense of direction and purpose when needed. Another great way to develop and clarify your personal vision is through speech. By articulating your beliefs and values, you can gain a greater understanding of what is important to you. In addition, speaking about your vision can help to inspire and motivate others. When you share your personal vision with others, you have the power to make a positive impact on their lives as well. Ultimately, developing and sharing your personal vision can help you create a life that is rich with meaning and purpose.

Real-Life Experience with SMART Goals

Throughout the years we have had the pleasure to help develop many of our client's visions, even when they might find it challenging to create one. One fond memory we have is of Claire, her name has been changed due to confidentiality, but her story is just as powerful. Claire had the vision to work in expressive arts. Claire and I identified her desires and made a SMART goal to achieve her vision. Claire and I processed her thoughts and feelings surrounding her goals. We identified her resources and supports and planned it out by identifying three tasks at a time. Each week Claire would come into our session and identify what I call W’s for Wins and L’s(Learning Opportunities). After several weeks of consistent sessions. Claire completed several projects associated with her vision and is in the process of obtaining a community partnership to make the vision happen.

How Having a Vision Can Reduce Stress in Your Life

Everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives. Whether it's caused by work, family, or personal issues. Stress can have a negative impact on our mental and physical health. Consistent stress over a long period of time not only affects our health but it begins to build barriers around the things we want to do and accomplish in life. However, there are ways to manage stress and minimize its effects. One of the most effective ways to do this is to have a vision.

When we have a clear vision for our lives, it gives us direction and purpose. It helps us to focus on what's important and lets us let go of the things that are causing us stress. Having a vision doesn't mean that we won't experience stress, but it can help us to better deal with those feelings when they do arise.

Why is Setting Goals to Achieve Your Vision Important?

When you set goals, you take control of your life’s direction. A vision provides you with a focal point in your life instead of living life as it comes or perhaps living a fear-based life when inaction is a common theme. When a vision is created, a list of actionable steps or smaller, bite-size goals can be identified to help make an easier roadmap to achieve this vision. Sometimes looking at the larger vision from afar can be overwhelming. Making smaller manageable steps can make the action needed more digestible.

Setting goals for your vision keeps you moving, increases your happiness, and significantly benefits your overall wellness. When you set goals, you create a vision of what your life could look like. Then it becomes a normal practice to push yourself to get the best results possible.

So how do you create a vision for your life? You can start with these three steps:

1. Determine what's important to you.

This is your vision - now think about the things that matter most to you in life. Be very personal, and take the time to reflect on the things that are important. What do you want to achieve? What kind of impact do you want to make? Once you know what's important to you, you can start setting goals that will help you achieve those things.

Some common areas of vision include:

• Education

• Career

• Financial

• Spirituality

• Family

• Mental Health

• Fitness

2. Set realistic goals.

It's important to set realistic goals that are achievable. If your goals are too lofty, you're likely to get discouraged when you don't reach them. However, if your goals are realistic and achievable, they'll give you a sense of accomplishment and help keep you motivated. Take a look at your current schedule and see where there is room for you to dedicate time to your vision. Remember, visions do not happen overnight. They are grand for a reason - they take time to accomplish. Baby steps count too!

3. Write down your vision.

Once you know what's important to you, it's time to write it down. This will help you to clarify your thoughts and ensure that your vision is specific and actionable. Not sure where to start? A good idea is to purchase a journal specific to your vision. It could be a dedicated space where you can write out your goals in life, the overall vision you are trying to reach, and even outline a weekly or monthly plan to ensure you stay committed to this vision. Take a few minutes a day to open your journal and review your vision. Remind yourself of the steps you need to get where you want to go. Keep your vision fresh in your mind!

Final Thoughts

Before you know it you will be checking action items off your list. Remember to give yourself credit for those small wins. The anxiety of being lost or stagnant in life is now replaced with the clear path in front of you by the vision you have created. The small things lead up to accomplishing your biggest vision. Stay on track, make adjustments when necessary, and persevere. No matter how large your goals are, you will achieve small wins along the way and those will prove that you’re capable of much more than you originally thought. Just a heads up, there might be hiccups along the way. Remember that setbacks don’t mean failure ⁠— they’re opportunities to learn and adapt. Once you identify the right root causes, you can clear the path to achieving your vision!