With the end of this year in sight, many of us will soon be setting our goals for next year.

Setting the right kind of goals in a meaningful way can keep us buoyant in challenging times, move us toward our desired fulfillment, and give us a sense of agency in our life and work.

You likely know of SMART Goals. SMART is an acronym that usually stands for

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-Based

I’ve used SMART goals for years and I encourage my coaching clients to make them, share them, and track them. When applied well, I’ve seen them completely change how business owners and their teams grow.

In these last few years, though, it’s been especially evident to me that we need to nourish a collective growth in wisdom. Maybe using WISE goals can help us do that.

The following thoughts on WISE goals were written by Jeffrey Davis at Tracking Wonder.

Who wants to be a SMARTy Pants with no wisdom to ground them? Wisdom comes from our ability to reflect, apply our knowledge, experience, and caring to derive

• Perspective on our times and the big picture of our situation
• Discernment of priorities, timelines, and tactics
• Attunement to what’s most meaningful and impactful

Enter WISE goals.

WISE goals offer us a set of skills, tools, and processes from which we can choose better SMART Goals.

WISE goals are...

Wonder-inducing 

• The goal comes in part from our capacity to deliberately daydream a meaningful near-future.
• When you envision achieving this goal, you feel cracked open to more possibility and meaning.
• It’s a goal worth fighting for or at least getting up for even when you don’t feel like getting up.

Integrity-based

• The goal comes in part from knowing who you are, who your brand is, what your genius talents are, and what your character strengths are (and are not).
• The goal comes out of knowing the core values that drive you or your organization.

Simple & Specific

• The goal is stated in such clear language that you can repeat the goal to yourself or to someone else in a way that makes crystal-clear sense.
• The goal is SMART in that it is time-bound, even if that timeline shifts. 
• The goal is stated in specific language so that the minuscule part of your brain devoted to focusing will know what it’s supposed to do for you.

Effectual

• The goal can be broken down into actionable tasks that can be acted on each week.
• You share the goal and your progress toward it with peers, colleagues, or teammates. 

Our Embedded Resistance to Change

What about when you just feel like your only goal is to hunker down with a good novel or cozy up to a fire? 

• Yeah, do that, but coziness is not anathema to WISE goals.

What about when you’re in crisis or despair?

• First, my sympathies. I have learned this, though: Goal-setting turns out to be a key ingredient with the facet of wonder called HOPE.

The science of hope shows that hope is not wishful thinking. It’s a proactive facet of wonder that keeps us on the trail of possibility even amidst adversity and crisis.

The stories of hope Jeffrey collects in TRACKING WONDER include some fascinating ones: 

• The musician Nick Cave navigating profound grief following his 15-year-old son’s tragic death
• A writer who got a rare neurological disease and kept hope by engaging with a snail 
• Lee Rankin, a single mom whose extraordinary journey 20 years ago led her to become a foremost influential voice in agritourism

All three of these people benefited from tiny, wise goals even if they didn’t have this framework to use intentionally.

Jeffrey’s closing invitation to you: 

• This season, try WISE goals for yourself. 
• Ask your team to set some WISE goals, not just SMART ones. 
• Print the WISE goals and place them next to your 2022 calendar.

And this brings me to an exciting invitation! 

• If you want to avoid the expensive, time-consuming mistakes entrepreneurs often make...

• If you're ready to identify the steps that will rapidly help you grow an aligned, successful business in a way that feels easy, effective, and fun…

• If you’d love to have expert guidance in building a high income, high impact business that resonates with who you are and how you want to serve the world… 

You’ll love my new Personal Help options! 

I’ve designed these Personal Help options so they’re no fuss, no fluff services where you’ll: 

• Receive help to identify the next steps you need to take to move forward in your business every day, week, and month -- while feeling healthy and fulfilled
• When the going gets tough, get the support you need through our individual or group coaching

This kind of support can save you years of trial, error, and effort and give a mighty boost to your confidence. As far as I know, there’s nothing quite like these Help options being offered to nurse entrepreneurs.

The Personal Help options include:

• Free Coaching: Sharon’s Office Hours on Zoom
• Foundational Business Statement Reviews
• Structure, Stabilize & Strategize Your Business (Personal Coaching in a Small Group)
• Private 1:1 Business Success Coaching & Mentoring (Self-paced)

Right now we don’t have our Personal Help options online yet because our website is being remodeled. We'll update this page when the Personal Help page is ready. Meanwhile, you can contact us at info@newdirectionsfornurses.org and we’ll send you the details by email.