Setting SMART goals with the cards

If you’ve done any goal setting, you have probably heard of SMART goals. SMART is an acronym that helps you remember to define goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timed.

Let’s say you want to go on a big trip. It’s not enough to say that you are going to Australia this year. Be SPECIFIC. Where do you plan to go in Australia? What’s your itinerary? What cities and sites do you want to see? Write down as many details as you can.

How can you MEASURE your goal to know you’ve reached it? Well, if you are actually in Australia, you know you reached your goal! But let’s say you wanted to “make more money each month.” How much do you want to make? Reaching that number will be the measure of your goal.

What ACTIONS can you take to get to your goal? These are the actual steps like researching locations, booking flights and hotels, and putting money aside for your trip. You can break these down into as many smaller steps as you like.

Is your goal REALISTIC? Can you reasonably achieve it in the time frame you want? If a trip costs $5000, ask yourself if you are willing to stretch yourself to create the money you need for the trip. If you want to leave in three months, is it reasonable to be able to get $5000 together by then?

Set a TIME to reach your goal. It’s best to choose a time within several months to a year at most. If you need longer to reach a goal, make smaller benchmarks you can reach as you go along. Setting a goal too far out makes it less likely you will get distracted and not follow through. WRITE THE DATE DOWN where you can see it, and put it on your calendar. Also, schedule completion dates for all the steps you will need to take to reach your goal.

Now, how can the cards help you? The cards are great for answering any questions you have about setting your goals. Not sure if you want to go to Egypt or Peru first? Pull a couple of cards for each destination and see what looks best.

Want to know how much money you are willing to make at a deep level? Pull a couple of cards for a few different amounts and see how you feel about them. If your psyche isn’t on board, you will have a harder time manifesting what you want. If you want a million dollars, but you’ve never made more than $50,000 in a year, you will probably find it easier to move up in increments. Start with $75,000, then move to $100,000, etc. You might even find that you don’t need to make a million to be content.

Trying to decide which actions to take first? Ask the cards to show you the next thing to do, or pull cards for a few different options. You can get a sense of what action is best supported on a particular day or during the coming week.

Not sure what date is best to plan your trip? Pick a few options, or pull a card for each month of the year to see what card looks most promising. You can even narrow down each week and then each day of the week. Don’t go too crazy trying to get the absolute perfect timing. Usually, if you can get it down to a good month and week, you’re good! If you want to confirm the timing, get your astrology transits done for the year. Cafe Astrology has reports starting at only a few dollars: https://buff.ly/2LVmSC0.

If you are serious about going for your goals, you have to do more than dream. Plan it out, write it down, make it so.