DEVELOPING LIFE GOALS
Most people have a dream in life, a vision of who or what they'd like to be in the future. At a minimum, everyone has interests and values that determine what they want out of their lives. Even so, trying to set to achievable goals that you'll work for over the course of many years can be daunting. It can be hard to know where to even begin, and the things you hope to achieve may seem impossible. But, If you're well-prepared you may be able to set goals for your life that are just as fulfilling to work toward as to achieve.
Developing Life Goals
(1).THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT
Many people have only a vague sense of what they want from life. In this first step, your task is to starting converting ideas like "happiness" or "security" into things you would like to do.
- Get a pen and some paper and start writing down things that are important to you in life. It's okay to be general at this stage, but try not to be vague.
- For example, if the first thing that pops into your head is "happiness," that's fine. But try to define that term. What does "happiness" mean to you? What would you consider a happy life?
( 2).WRITE ABOUT YOURSELF
One good way to start moving from general to specific is to do some free-writing about yourself. Think about your personality and your interests. This can help you define what is most important to you.
- Try writing abut how you enjoy spending your time. Begin your brainstorm by writing down what you enjoy doing and what excites you.
*Don't limit yourself to activities or experiences that you think are productive or "worth doing." The point of a brainstorm is to get down as many ideas as possible, and this list will be useful later on in the process.
- Write about things you are interested in and/or would like to learn more about. Are you interested in science? In literature? In music? Any of these could become lifelong pursuits.
*Write about things about yourself you'd like to improve. Are you hoping to develop your skills as a public speaker? As a writer? As a photographer? Again, these can all become life-long pursuits.
(3). IMAGINE YOUR FUTURE.
Think about your ideal future. What does it look like? Ask yourself questions that will help you get to a detailed picture. For example, imagine you are trying to decide on a long-term career. Here are some questions you might ask:
*What time do you want to wake up every morning?
*Where do you want to live? The city? A rural
area? A foreign country?
*Who will be there when you wake up? If it's
important to you have to have a family? If so, a
job that requires a lot of long trips out of town
might not be the best choice.
*How much money do you want to make?
*The answers to these questions may not be
enough to point you toward a single dream
job, by they can certainly help you rule some
out.
(4).MAKE YOUR GOALS SPECIFIC
After all this brainstorming, you should have some ideas about what you'd like to do with your life. In fact, you probably have several! Now is the time to make them as specific as possible.
*For example, you may at this point have the
idea that you might want to become a
scientist. That's a good start. But now, think
about what type of scientist you'd like to be.
Do you want to be a chemist? A physicist? An
astronomer?
*Be as specific as you can. Imagine you've
decided becoming a chemist might be the
right path for you. Now, ask yourself what type
of work you'd like to do within that field. Do
you want to work for a private company,
developing new products? Do you want to
teach chemistry at a university
(5).THINK ABOUT WHY
By now, you probably have a few strong contenders for life goals. Examine each one and ask yourself: "why do I want that?" Your answers may lead you to revise your goals.
*For example, let's say you've decided to put
"become a surgeon" on the list. You ask
yourself why, and determine that it's because
surgeons make a lot of money and are well
respected. Those are valid reasons. But, if you
discover that those are the only reasons, you
might want to consider other careers that
could provide the same benefits. Becoming a
surgeon requires a lot of education. It can
require keeping very unusual hours. If these
things are less appealing, consider other goals
that might achieve the same benefits of wealth
and respect.
√Making a Plan for Achievement√
(1).RANK YOUR GOALS
At the point that you have a few (or many) possible life goals, it's time to get serious about making a plan for achievement. A first step in this is prioritizing your goals.
Deciding which goal or goals are most important can help you decide which ones to start working on first.
*You also may need to start cutting goals from
the list at this point. Some goals may not be
achievable together. For example, you
probably can't become a doctor who is also an
astronaut and a famous rap music artist. Any
one of these goals can take a lifetime to
achieve. All of them together may be
impossible.
*Other goals might work well in tandem. For
example, if you want to be a beer brewer and
open a restaurant, you might combine these to
create a new goal: open a brew pub.
Part of this ranking process will be a matter of
assessing your personal commitment to each
goal. You are not likely to achieve long-term
goals that you are only moderately committed
to, especially if there are other goals on your
list that are much more important.(2).DO SOME RESEARCH
Once you've narrowed the field to a single goal or a few that work well together, take some time to find out how to achieve these goals. You'll want to ask questions like:
*What skills will you need to learn?
*What educational qualifications are
necessary?
*What types of resources will you need to
acquire?
*How long should you expect the process to
take?
(3).CREATE SUBGOALS
Achieving life goals is almost always a long and complicated process. Based on your knowledge of what it will take to achieve your goal, the next step is to break it down into smaller components.
*Creating subgoals will make the process
manageable and will help you create a step-
by-step plan for reaching your ultimate goal.
*Make these subgoals as measurable and
tangible as possible. In other words, there
should be a clear definition of each subgoal
that makes it easy to tell when you have
achieved it.
*For example, if your goal is to open a
restaurant, your subgoals might include
saving up a certain amount of money, finding
a location, designing the interior, getting it
furnished, obtaining insurance, getting various
permits and licenses, hiring employees, and
finally, having a grand opening.
*When working on long term goals, it's easy to
feel like you aren't getting anywhere. With list
of manageable and clear subgoals, however, it
is much easier for you to see your own
progress. This reduce the temptation to give
up.
(4).CREATE A TIMELINE
Once you've got the steps to achieving your goal mapped out, set some deadlines. Think about how long each sub goal should reasonably take, and make a timeline for achieving them.
Having deadlines will keep you motivated by adding a sense of urgency. It will also make you accountable for meeting goals at certain times, rather than letting them slip down your priority list.
*Using the restaurant example, if you want to
have $10,000 saved within three years, you
can break that down to about $278 a
month. This will help you remember to
actually set aside the money each month,
rather than spending it on other things.
(5).PLAN FOR OBSTACLES
Finally, try to imagine things that could interfere with your plan. Thinking in advance about obstacles you might encounter will help you develop ideas for how to deal with them, if they come up.
*For example, imagine you have decided to
become a research chemist. You decide to
apply for a graduate program in the top school
for chemistry. What happens if you aren't
accepted? Will you apply elsewhere? If so,
you'll probably need to do so before you even
find out if your first-choice school accepted
you. Or maybe you think it's a better idea to
wait until the following year and apply again.
If so, what will you do during that year to
make your application more appealing?
√WORKING TOWARD YOUR GOALS√
(1).CREATE THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT
Whatever your goal, there are probably some environments that are better for achieving it than others. Do whatever you can to make sure that the people and physical spaces you spend time with don't create obstacles.
*For example, if you are entering a medical
program, you're going to need to study long
hours and concentrate on your work. If you
live with friends who party all the time and
will encourage you to do the same, you might
want to consider moving.
*Surrounding yourself with other goal-oriented
people can also help keep you accountable
and motivated.
(2).GET TO WORK
Pick a date to begin work on the first subgoal on your list. Then, dive in!
If you aren't sure how to accomplish your first
subgoal, it is too complicated to be your first
subgoal. If you can't identify the first step
toward that goal, you may need to to more
research and/or break it down into smaller
subgoals.Set a start date at least a few days in the
future. If it's a goal you're excited about, the
anticipation will help get you motivated and
enthusiastic for the first step.
*You can also use the downtime before the
start date to adjust your plan, get advice, or
acquire any tools you need to achieve your
goal.
(3).WORK ON YOUR GOALS CONSISTENTLY
Once you get started, the key to achieving life goals is work on them steadily and consistently. This is a step-by-step process that is going to take a long time. It is crucial, therefore, to keep making progress.
*Many people set goals and then jump in with
great enthusiasm, devoting a lot of time and
energy to the goal in the early stages.
Enthusiasm is great, but try not to burn
yourself out in the first few weeks or months.
You also don't want to set standards that you
won't be able to live up to in the long run.
Remember that you are in this for the long
haul. This isn't a race, it's a journey.
*A good way to ensure consistent progress is to
build time into your daily routine for working
on your goals. For example, if you are studying
to become a chemist, set aside a specific
portion of each day for homework from your
classes, for example, 3pm to 7pm. Set aside a
specific part of the day for developing your
own research, say 7:30pm to 9pm. Try to
always use these hours for these purposes,
unless you absolutely must deviate from that
schedule. But at 9pm, call it quits for the night
and do something to relax.
*Keep in mind that to achieve any goal, there is
no away around investing a lot of time and
effort. Putting in the hours and the sweat is
how you will achieve your goal.
(4).STAY MOTIVATED
Because consistency is so important, it is crucial that you stay motivated.
*Having achievable subgoals is crucial to your
motivation.
*Use reinforcement to create incentives.
Positive reinforcement is adding something
good to your life. Negative reinforcement is
taking away something unwanted. Both can
help you stay motivated. If you are trying to
keep yourself focused on filling out a permit
application for your restaurant, and notice you
are getting distracted, offer yourself a reward.
Maybe after you've finished the application,
you can treat yourself to a professional
massage. Or, maybe you'll be more motivated
by allowing yourself to skip out on a weekly
chore for once. Either way, reinforcement can
keep you on task.
*Punishing yourself for failing to achieve
subgoals is not as effective as reinforcement
good behavior. If you opt to create unpleasant
consequences for yourself, make sure to use
rewards, too.
(5).TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
One of the best ways to stay motivated is keep track of your progress and check it regularly. Depending on your goal and personal preferences, you can use an app, a journal, or a calendar.
*Any of these will help remind you of subgoals
you've already achieved. They can also keep
you accountable to yourself for staying on
schedule.
*Writing in a journal regularly can also help
ease stress and anxiety that might come with
the process of striving for a long term goal.
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