From Dreams to Reality

Crafting Your Vision to Your SMARTEST Goals

Hi, everyone!

Forgive my sending this on a Sunday. I was trying to up several pieces of new artwork to include in this newsletter, but those will have to wait until Friday. For now, let's finish our talk on practical dreaming and goal-setting.

January is drawing to a close and so are our prepping efforts for this new year. I don’t know about you, but I am so proud and grateful to have done the hard work of my After Action Report and Vision Board! Both have helped me push past distraction and lay the foundation for an amazing year!

If you have your Vision Board (or even part of your Vision Board), then wonderful! Keep reading! If not, stop, reference last week’s newsletter, and make one before reading this. Otherwise, you will be confused.

Okay, now that you have your Vision Board, take a moment to admire it. It’s beautiful! It’s inspiring! It’s amazing! But here’s the thing... a vision without any action is just a daydream. This is where my SMARTEST goal framework comes in.

Now before I go through each element, I need to give credit where credit is due. I am basing this goal framework entirely on Michael Hyatt’s SMARTER goals framework because, quite frankly, it works. I’m not interested in reinventing a functional system; however, I am interested in tweaking this one slightly to more effectively serve our purposes as creatives. Consequently, I’ve replaced Michael’s second R with a second S and T. You’ll see why in a minute.

Now, Let me walk you through each element:

S - Specific

Vague goals don’t get accomplished. “Be healthier” won’t motivate you on day 47 when you’re exhausted. “Practice aerial yoga at least twice a week” will. (Yes, for those of you who are curious, that is one of my personal health goals this year.)

Look at your Vision Board. For each major area, what specific outcome do you want? The more focused your goal, the more motivated you’ll be to accomplish it.

M - Measurable

How will you know when you’ve achieved your goal? What are the concrete markers of success?

Your goal needs built-in milestones so you can track progress. Instead of “publish my book,” try “complete first draft by March 31, revisions by June 30, submit to beta readers by August 15, finish final edits and formatting by October 1.”

See the difference? You can break that down into specific action steps and check them off as you go!

A - Actionable

Use action verbs! “Write 500 words daily” is actionable. “Be a better writer” is not.

Action-based goals prompt you into... well, action! These answer the question “What am I going to DO?” not just “What do I want?”

R - Relevant

This is your reality check. Before you commit to your goals, review them against your actual life circumstances and values.

Let me be very clear and honest here: I learned this one the hard way. Last year, I set a goal to become a certified aerial yoga instructor. It was specific, measurable, actionable, time-keyed, and exciting. But you know what? It wasn’t relevant to my current circumstances.

With my day job in HR, my writing business, and all my other commitments, I simply didn’t have the time and resources to dedicate to aerial yoga instructor certification. I did become a paid aerial yoga instructor at my studio, but the full certification had to wait. And that’s okay!

Your goals need to take into account:

• Your available time and energy
• Your financial resources
• Your family responsibilities
• Your current season of life
• Your core values and priorities

T - Time-Keyed

Goals without deadlines are just wishes. You need to create a sense of urgency!

Add specific dates, frequencies, or time triggers to your goals:

• Deadline: “Finish novel manuscript by December 31”
• Frequency: “Post on social media three times per week”
• Time trigger: “Spend 30 minutes in morning prayer before starting work each day”

E - Exciting

This is absolutely critical! If your goal doesn’t excite you—if it doesn’t connect with your internal motivation and inspire you—it’s going to be really, really hard to stick with when obstacles come up. And they will come up.

Your Vision Board should help with this! Look at those images that made you feel something. Your goals should evoke that same emotional response. When you think about achieving them, you should feel a spark of joy or determination or peace. That spark is what will help you push through to success when disruptions and distractions start pummeling your progress.

Your goals should stretch you. If you already know you can achieve them without breaking a sweat, they’re not going to force you to grow.

I’m not saying set yourself up for failure—remember, we’re staying grounded in reality. But do challenge yourself! Set goals that make you think, “Wow, if I actually accomplish that...”

Case in point: Last year, I set a risky goal to write over 50,000 words in a month. It stretched me. It challenged me. And I did it! That accomplishment has given me the confidence to set even bigger writing goals this year.

S - Sacred

This is my bonus S which is part of the secret sauce for all that I do that sets my goals apart from Michael Hyatt’s. Does this goal touch the sacred? How are you showing honor and worship to God through this dream and goal? Does this goal help you know God a little better? Does this goal serve and help others in some way? How can you connect your goals with God’s goals for you in this season? Is there a daily or weekly spiritual practice you can do that helps make regular, sustainable progress on this goal? Our thoughts are the seeds of all actions, so use the sacred to your empower your thoughts and positively power your actions!

T - Talent

Finally, your goals need to be developed in areas where you already have talent and skill. Making a goal of “I want to learn to play the drums this year” when you have no natural sense of rhythm is doing to do nothing but frustrate you. Stick with your strengths and make goals that help you serve yourself and others better in the areas where you are naturally skilled already. After all, to paraphrase Albert Einstein, no wise person would ever ask a fish to climb a tree and expect success.

Putting It All Together

So now you have your Vision Board hanging where you can see it every day. You understand the SMARTEST framework. How do you actually create your goals?

Here’s my process:

1. Look at each major section of the Vision Board.

2. Choose 1-3 specific outcomes that I want in that area.

3. For each outcome, write a SMARTEST goal using the framework above.

4. Test each goal against ALL eight criteria—if it doesn’t meet them all, revise it.

5. Narrow down to your Top 3 Priorities for the year (yes, just three!). What are your top Being, Relating, and Doing priorities?

6. Break each priority goal into quarterly milestones.

7. Identify the first action step for each milestone.

8. Make a daily habit to carry out that actions step (and the steps to follow it).

Now then, let me show you what this looks like in practice with one of my own goals:

Example Goal: Publish a Nonfiction Devotional Book

Vision Board Element: Image of a stack of books

SMARTEST Goal: Complete my 365-day nonfiction devotional book by December 31, 2026, and publish one devotional per day on social media to raise awareness for the project.

Let’s test it:

Specific? Yes, 365-day nonfiction devotional book covers the length (365-daily entries), genre (nonfiction devotional), and type (book) of the work.

Measurable? Yes, the 365-day count and requirement of one devotional per day are concrete.

Actionable? Yes, “complete” and “publish” are action verbs.

Relevant? Yes, I have the writing skills, and the graphic design skills, and I’ve already dedicated daily Bible-reading and writing time in my busy schedule. This also aligns with my creative business goals because it pushes me to publish a social media post every day.

Time-Keyed? Yes, December 31, 2026 is my long-term, ultimate deadline, and daily is my short-term deadline.

Exciting? Yes! This connects my with my core Being dream of being a spiritually well-rounded person (and author) because this project forces me to take the things I’ve learned during morning FOCUS times with the Lord and combines them in a public format with the things that I have learned while writing fiction to create a completely new type of creative product to help readers strengthen their own spiritual walks. I’ve also never finished and published a devotional book this long before; the closest was my 31-Day First Fruits Photography Devotional published in 2012. I’ve also never published daily content on social media before, so this will stretch me!

Sacred? Yes, this goal is a practical application of my FOCUS prayer times that helps me express a yearning in my heart to worship God through my writing.

Talent? Yes, I have already proven that I can write fiction and nonfiction well. I also have organizing, graphic design, and publishing skills that I’ll be drawing on to make this goal a reality.

See how that works? Every element of SMARTEST is present!

Your Homework This Week

Okay, now it’s your turn! Here’s what I want you to do this week:

1. Finish creating your Vision Board if you haven’t already.

2. Write out 5-7 SMARTEST goals covering different areas of your life.

3. Test each goal against all seven criteria and revise as needed.

4. Choose your Top 3 Priorities for the year—one Being, one Relating, one Doing.

5. Break each priority into quarterly milestones.

6. Identify your first action step for each priority and schedule it!

I know this seems like a lot, but trust me—the time you invest now will save you countless hours of frustration later. And the clarity you’ll gain? Priceless!

The Marathon, Not the Sprint

Remember what I said at the beginning of the last newsletter? This year’s journey for me is about running a marathon, not a sprint. The same is true for you.

Your Vision Board isn’t something you create and then stick in a closet. Keep it where you can see it daily! Let it remind you of where you’re going when the day-to-day grind threatens to pull you off course.

Your SMARTEST goals aren’t set in stone. Life happens. Circumstances change. It’s okay to adjust your goals as you go—that’s not failure, that’s wisdom! The key is to stay intentional about your direction rather than just drifting.

And most importantly, give yourself grace. You will have days when you fall short. You will face obstacles. You will need to recalibrate. That’s all part of the journey!

I believe that this year can be the year you accomplish more than you ever thought possible. And it begins with your Vision Board and your SMARTEST goals.

So what goal are you going to set first?

May we each rewrite our world for the better!

Hugs,
Alycia Christine

P.S.-Missed any of the Devotionals this week? Find all of them on my website news page.

P.S.-Want more guidance on goal-setting? Check out Michael Hyatt’s book Your Best Year Ever for a deep dive into the SMARTER framework and additional strategies for achieving your dreams.