Goals can be the difference between drifting along in life, falling into whatever jobs, relationships and other situations come before you, and having a genuinely fulfilling life. Goals take you beyond day-to-day survival and into concrete actions that will help you achieve your dreams. They are so important that you would think how to set and achieve them is something that would be taught in school alongside learning to read, add and subtract, but this is often not the case. Fortunately, it’s never too late to learn.
Don’t Be Afraid to Dream
When you want to shake up your life for the better, goals that are small and short-term are important, and in fact, you usually need a lot of these along the way to the big items. However, to start with, think big. What are some of the things that you’ve always really dreamed of having or doing? Examples might include owning your own business, traveling the world, writing a cookbook, or selling your arts and crafts online. Make a list of the things you really want most in the world, even the ones that seem impractical. You’re just brainstorming at this stage.
Narrow It Down
Now it’s time to take a more realistic approach to your list and whittle it down. Sure, living in Antarctica sounds exciting, but if you’re honest with yourself, you hate the cold. At 30, you don’t have a career ahead as a pro football player, but would you like to work in the industry in some other capacity or play on weekends with friends? Choose two or three challenging but achievable aims to work toward. Rewrite them so that they are as specific as possible. Instead of become financially independent, or have zero debt, try pay off all debt except the mortgage within the next five years. This specificity gives you something measurable to work toward.
Make a Plan
Next, you need to make a plan that lists each necessary step. These steps should also be as concrete as possible. For the getting out of debt in five years goal, you might look at whether any of your loans are eligible for refinance. This might be the case for student loans. Refinancing them can lower your monthly expenses as well as what you pay overall if you get a lower interest rate. Figure out how much you have to pay each month in order to get free of education debt in five years. If it’s looks too high, you may need to adjust your goal or set a new one of getting a better paying job. You can review a guide that explains what you can do to get approved if you’re refinancing without a cosigner.
Keep Up the Good Work
Goals of all sizes can be set and achieved in this way but pay special attention to the ambitious ones. They may have more steps and bigger challenges, but don’t count yourself out at changing your life by achieving them. Watch out for negative thoughts like “I’m not the kind of person who can do this.” As you master each of the steps along the way, remind yourself that this proves you’re exactly the kind of person who can do this.
