How to Become an Herbalist: Goal Setting for Career Growth & Learning

February 11, 2025 Blog

The Power of Goal Setting for Herbalists: A Path to Growth and Mastery

I can still remember the day I stood on my neighbors lawn, wondering why my potbelly pig Lulu, ate certain plants, while ignoring others. “Can eat these plants too?” I wondered. This began the journey of learning to identifying wild plants that ultimately led to becoming a professional herbalist and teacher. The first time I opened a field guide to identify a plant, I was filled with excitement and curiosity. But I also felt overwhelmed. How would I ever master plant identification and learn all their uses? How could I turn this passion into a profession? That’s when I realized I needed a plan. Walking around with field guide and eating wild plants alongside my pet pig was fun, but it wasn’t going to make me a skilled forager and wildcrafter. Nor would it create a viable path towards becoming a professional herbalist. Goal setting became my guide on the path—helping me stay focused, motivated, and always moving forward.

Whether you’re just starting your journey or you’re already a practicing herbalist, setting clear professional development goals is the key to growth. Without a plan, it’s easy to drift, collecting bits of knowledge but never fully integrating them. When you define your path with learning objectives, you give yourself a roadmap that turns your vision into a reality. Goal setting isn’t limited to students—even as a professional herbalist, goal setting should remain a yearly practice.

I have been running a full-time herbal business since 2019. Yet I still find yearly goal setting to be an important exercise for advancing my career, and improving my knowledge of herbal medicine. When I don’t set goals, I stagnate. This is exactly what happened to me last year. I neglected my annual goal setting discipline and as a result, 2024 became an aimless and unfocused year. Don’t let that happen to you. Follow the steps below and make 2025 the year you make great progress towards your goals as an herbalist.

Five Steps to Goal-Setting Success for Herbalists

Here’s a simple five-step process to help you set and achieve your herbalist educational and professional goals:

1. Define Your Vision
Ask yourself: What kind of herbalist do I want to become? Do you see yourself running a practice, formulating herbal products, or teaching others? The clearer your vision, the easier it is to set meaningful goals.

Once you have defined your broader goals, ask yourself: what do I want to achieve this year? Be specific. Don’t worry about whether you think the goals are too lofty. It’s better to overreach and miss the mark, then to set goals that are too easily achieved. For example, one of my goals this year is to create three new courses for my school. In addition, I want to start a YouTube channel and write a book. Will I achieve all these goals? Maybe. Maybe not. But if I can even accomplish 75% of these goals, then I will consider the year a tremendous success. As Wayne Gretzky said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

2. Set SMART Goals
Make your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART). Instead of saying, “I want to learn more about herbal medicine,” say, “I will complete a course on clinical herbalism within six months.”

The more specific you can get with your goals, the more likely you are to achieve them. When you get specific, then you have a clear vision of what it is you want to accomplish and you can begin to take daily steps towards that goal. When your goal is too vague, then its easy to procrastinate, mismanage your time and resources, and waste another year.

In my case, I said that I want to create three new courses this year. This isn’t my goal however. My goal is more specific. I want to create an advanced herbal medicine course geared towards clinical herbalists. I have an entire outline written for the course—that’s how specific I made that goal. In addition, I want to create a monthly materia medica course, and a free herbal introductory course. Having these specific goals helps me to formulate a coherent and measurable plan. Each day I know what steps I should take towards achieving these goals.

3. Create an Action Plan
Break down big goals into smaller steps. If your goal is to start a herbalist practice, your steps might include: completing a course, finding a mentor, and setting up a business plan. You may also want to look into local business laws, and file the necessary paperwork with your local government. Setting up a website and designing a logo would also be good steps to take.

4. Track Your Progress
Keep a journal or checklist to monitor your progress. Checking off small wins keeps you motivated and ensures you’re on the right path. Do something EVERY SINGLE DAY towards achieving your goals. Every night, write a specific to-do list for the next day. Check each item off as you complete each task.

5. Stay Flexible and Adjust
Life happens, and sometimes goals need adjusting. If a course takes longer than expected or a business idea shifts, adapt and keep going. The key is to remain committed to growth.

This is exactly what happened to me when starting out. I had originally planned on starting a local clinical practice. I wanted a storefront that would focus on herbal foot baths, educational courses, and private consultations, but plans changed. As a Christian, I had become disillusioned with the schools I had attended. Aside from promoting new age worldviews, one of the schools I attended was outright hostile towards Christianity and was promoting untruths regarding herbal history and the Christian faith. I heard from other students who felt similarly frustrated. So a new vision was born: start a Christian herbal school. The rest is history. I never started that local clinic. Instead I have been teaching herbal medicine from a Christian perspective and also went on to found the Christian Herbalist Guild. Moral of the story? You need to remain flexible.

Take Action Today

No matter where you are in your herbalist journey, take a moment today to define at least one clear goal. Write it down, map out your steps, and commit to making it happen. How to become an herbalist isn’t just about knowledge—it’s about consistent action. There is no such thing as luck when it comes to successfully achieving your dreams—luck is just consistent daily action coupled with self-reflection and opportunity. Opportunity comes to those who put in the work. Start today. Your future self will thank you for the goals you set today!

Looking for inspiration or knowledge?

Check out our workshops and conferences. You might just find the inspiration and knowledge you need to take that next step in your herbal education and professional career.

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Who is Vas Avramidis?

Vas Avramidis is the founder of both the School of Christian Herbalism as well as the Christian Herbalist Guild. He is the author of an upcoming book called the Beautiful Communion which will explore the theology of creation, the body, and healing. He is also planning a second book called the Liturgy of Flowers. Vas is preparing to launch a new podcast which will be titled Healing Simplicity — Whole Health, God’s Way.

Avramidis has been studying the holistic arts for nearly twenty years. In addition to studying herbalism and holistic health, Vas Avramidis holds degrees in Fine Arts, Visual Studies, and Christian Theology. Avramidis has also spent time living an Eastern Orthodox Monastery and studying ancient spirituality, world religions, and philosophy. He has a strong passion for shining the light of Christ into the dark places, and for being a healing presence in a broken world.

Tags: Career Inspiration