Knowing Who You Are and Where You’re Goin

Currently, at work, I’m hosting a workshop on developing healthy living habits, and one of the things we are looking at is identifying goals. Sometimes we tend to coast through life without any plan for what we want or where we’re going. We waste time because we haven’t chosen any direction for where we want to be. I’m going through the workshop and completing all the activities along with my other participants so I can be part of the group as well as the facilitator.

I’m surprised at how often most of us don’t set goals for what we want out of life. Maybe that’s because I’m getting older and am focused on fewer and fewer goals as I face retirement in a few short years. Yet, I still have some things I want to achieve. I’ve found that many times people don’t think about goals at all. They are focused more on what’s happening today. The problem is that you can lose tomorrow that way!

Setting goals isn’t all that difficult. Start by thinking about what’s important to you. What do you value? Then, look at where you want to be in a few years. Do you want to change your job or find a hobby you’re passionate about? Are you looking to increase your social connections, or find better ways to spend your leisure time? Your goals can be about anything, but if you don’t have a goal to aim toward, how will you go about getting what you want?

Take a little time today to think about where you want to be in three to five years. What will your life look like if you do nothing? What steps can you take to get you to where you’d rather be? Write down a goal or two and a few changes you can make to get there. Then set the paper somewhere you’ll see it so it reminds you where you’re headed. Make a point of coming back to it on occasion so you can evaluate how far you’ve come toward reaching that goal.

You can make changes in your life to make things better. Having a plan, written down, can help you focus on what you want and how to get there. Good luck on reaching your goals—you can do it!