There is never a good time to sit down and think
about what you want to accomplish in life. We all have busy lives, and even
when you are not busy, we often feel more like whiling away in front of the television
or surfing the internet than thinking about the rest of our lives.
What
if you re-strategise and start thinking about your life goals; give it a try if
you haven’t. It could take as little as 10 or 20 minutes, and it could make all
the difference in the world.
It’s
not a difficult process. You probably already have a good idea of what you want
to do, but you may not have it written down. Or maybe you have done this
exercise before, but you have not updated your goals for a while, now is the
time to do it.
How to Start
1. Think
about what you’d like people to say about you at your funeral: This is an
extract from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — the habit
called “Begin with the end in mind.” It’s also very effective. Imagine you are
at the end of your life, looking back. What would you like to have
accomplished? What kind of person would you like to have been?
Key
point: Start living your life so that you will eventually get to that point.
2. Now
that you’ve given that a little thought, jot down some ideas for life goals you
will like to achieve before you die. They can be in many areas, but here are a
few to start with:
·
Profession.
·
Education.
·
Family.
·
Spiritual.
·
Travel.
·
Recreation.
·
Hobbies.
·
Community.
·
Charity.
You can probably think of more, and
you don’t need to have goals in all of these areas. Just some topics to get you
started.
3. Refine
your list, or expand it. After your initial brainstorm, you may want to trim it
down. But you may also want to expand: sometimes, it’s fun and worthwhile to
dream big.
4. Break
it down. What should you accomplish in the next 10 years for each of these
goals? How about 5 years? How about two years? One year? Or let’s say this
month? Once you have planned out each goal for 10-year, 5-year, 2-year, 1-year
and 1-month periods, you have got yourself a pretty solid plan.
5. Take
action! Pick up the list comprising of your monthly goals, and make a
to-do list for the week. Ask yourself; what can I do today to further my goals?
And if you can get just one thing done, you have done a lot to make those
dreams a reality.
Take a step towards your dreams today by writing
them down, and making a plan.
So glad
you are here, were the tips helpful? It will be a pleasure to hear your
contribution. Don’t leave without dropping a comment. Enjoy the rest of your
day.
