Living (and loving) Life
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”
― Benjamin Franklin
This has long been one of my favorite quotes.
Time is always moving forward and you’re headed somewhere whether you like it or not. If you don’t create a road map for yourself, there’s no telling where you’ll end up.
The good news is that when you’re ready to accomplish your goals, you can guide your path in any direction that you want it to go.
Here are three simple, actionable steps to take to guide your life in any direction that you want it to go:
1 – Identify your goals
This sounds like an obvious step, but few people identify their goals concretely. For example, a common goal that most people have is to retire early and comfortably. It’s a nice idea, but it’s too vague to be of any use.
To turn a “dream” into an achievable goal you need specificity. What does early retirement mean to you? Is it 40, 50? What exactly would “comfortable” look like for you?
In regards to the above sample goal, what dollar amount would you want to have in your investment accounts by the time you reach retirement age?
Avoid generalizations. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, write down something specific like “lose 20 pounds in three months”. Keeping things concrete will help keep your goals realistic.
Once you have your concrete goal identified, put it somewhere where you can see it.
A few years ago, “dream boards” were popular. Dream boards are simply poster boards on which people would attach representations of their goals like short phrases, photos from magazines and other items.
I know it sounds silly, but visual aids are a powerful reminder of your goals. Keep your goals somewhere where you will see them at the start of every day to keep them fresh in your mind.
2 – Map out the steps to reaching your goal
Having a concrete, achievable goal is a good first step but it means nothing without a game plan. Pull up your word processor and map out the general steps to your goal. For example the steps toward early, comfortable retirement might be to save money, get a promotion, invest wisely, pay off the house.
Once you have your broad strokes down, identify concrete actionable steps to get you to each milestone. For example, the first step toward early retirement might be to save money. Ideal actionable steps are to write down your monthly income, identify key areas of waste or over-expenditure and calculate a feasible amount to save every month that will get you to your goal. Write everything down. Don’t leave even small steps to chance. Once you’ve completed a task, tick it off and keep the record of all of your accomplishments.
3 – Revise your plan monthly (as needed)
Once a month, sit down at your desk or the kitchen table and check on your progress.
What concrete steps have you ticked off this week? What took longer than expected? Are you going stir crazy because you cut out too many leisure expenses in an effort to save?
Don’t be afraid to change things that aren’t working, but always keep your end goal in mind.
After your monthly assessment, write a paragraph or two about what you did to accomplish your goals. When you’re feeling frustrated you can look back over your accomplishments and boost your self-esteem.
Once you get everything written down and mapped out, you’ll soon find that you can accomplish your goals are in reach.
Once monthly you’ll see the concrete progress you make toward your dreams. If the process is long, reward yourself frequently for reaching your mini concrete goals. A little back-patting goes a long way to keep you going.
Credits: Photo courtesy of Bryan Wintersteen.