Set Goals for Growth

Set Goals for Growth

Owning your career means taking full responsibility for your professional and personal growth. At CareerTruth, goal setting is not a task to check off, but a foundational practice for building your Mastery, creating Freedom, and leaving a purpose-filled Legacy. Setting clear, prioritized goals aligned with your career arcs allows you to grow continuously and intentionally.

CareerTruth emphasizes the creation of three types of goals:

  1. Professional Goals

  2. Personal Goals Related to Work

  3. Personal Goals Related to Life

Each of these should be written as SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable, and Time-bound. Within each goal, you’ll define milestones that serve as stepping stones to guide your day-to-day efforts toward accomplishing the broader objective. 

Professional Goals

Professional Goals are the building blocks of your career development. These goals are focused on achieving new levels of Mastery in your skills, leadership, and market value. CareerTruth recommends starting with two professional goals at a time and setting clear milestones that will lead to a STAR experience or the ability to teach the skill—both signs that you’ve reached Mastery.

Sample Professional Goals:

  • Define my purpose

  • Understand myself better

  • Build my career plan

  • Build new skills

  • Develop as a leader

  • Challenge myself at work

  • Invest in my network

  • Craft my professional story

  • Advocate for myself professionally

  • Understand my market value

  • Explore supplemental work

  • Win more clients and revenue

  • Recover from burnout

  • Get a job quickly

Personal Goals Related to Work

Personal Goals Related to Work help integrate your professional life into your broader Work-Life Flow. These goals acknowledge that work is a part of life—not in opposition to it. These goals often involve practical improvements to your professional conditions or alignment with your personal values.

Sample Personal Work Goals:

  • Improve my income

  • Establish a flexible schedule

  • Increase security and decrease risk

  • Work with people I care about

  • Find work with missional alignment

  • Have a high impact

Personal Goals Related to Life

These goals reflect the most important aspects of your personal well-being. Whether tied to family, health, community, or spirituality, these goals are essential for ensuring that your life outside of work is rich, meaningful, and supportive of your professional pursuits.

Sample Personal Life Goals:

  • Grow family commitment

  • Deepen my community ties

  • Improve my holistic health

  • Strengthen my spiritual life

  • Enjoy travel and hobbies

Why SMART Goals?

Using the SMART framework brings clarity, focus, and structure to your ambitions. It prevents vague intentions from stalling progress and ensures your goals are realistic within your current context.

SMART Explained:

  • Specific – Clearly define the smallest actionable step.

  • Measurable – Establish criteria to track progress.

  • Achievable – Ensure the goal is possible.

  • Reasonable – Assess fit for your current time, energy, and resources.

  • Time-bound – Set a target date for completion.

Your Next Steps

  1. Choose one goal from each category (Professional, Personal Work, Personal Life).

  2. Write each as a SMART goal.

  3. Identify at least 1–2 milestones per goal.

  4. Share these with your leader, coach, and trusted mentor.

Final Thoughts

This is your professional career—and your life. If you don’t set intentional goals, others will set the course for you. Align your personal and professional ambitions, stay accountable, and pursue progress with purpose. Maximizing your talent is the most sustainable path to the freedom and fulfillment you desire. Be bold, be smart, and take the next step forward with clarity and intention.