there has been a lot of talk lately about goals - it being a new year and all! for most of my life my goals were kept within my head. i always loved making lists but they contained very immediate tasks - finish my art history essay, email my aunt, paint my nails and do my course readings.
i think part of the reason i never wrote down my long term aspirations was because to me, they were always more of a given, rather than goals. i knew i would graduate high-school, i knew i would always work two or more part-time jobs, i knew i would save for university and get a bachelor degree. of course as i grew older, these givens became clearer in my mind, and more real. but still i never wrote anything down.
after university - i realized i no longer had a plan. everything i had imagined for my life had already occurred. i had no idea what to do next! so, like every graduate who has no plans - i went back to school. something happened during my next bout of education - i started to want things. i started to express (both orally and online) what i wanted to do with my life.
i started by making funny little dream equations (great apartment + beautiful wedding + art gallery job = happiness). then, as my little stationery hobby became more serious, i began to make endless lists of mini goals. using this goal tracker by brittni from papernstitch, i made general shop and blog goals, followed by lists of specific tasks and then divided them into months and years.
i've also made a little life plan for the next four years. jon and i are going to spend a few years paying off our wedding debt and working on our careers. then we are going to take an incredible trip to europe - making stops in austria, italy, france, greece and england.* at that point, we will try to have a couple little munchkins!
i'm still not sure whether writing down my goals is actually the driving force that makes them come true - but it's very satisfying to have something to work towards. and it feels great when i "cross" them off the list! plus, i have a feeling there are some things i would forget about, or procrastinate on otherwise...
*that's in order of importance!
Think I will use track this (thanks), I am somehow too scared to think at long term plans. Because i am chronically ill I never really did them any way, but one long term plan for me now is to study graphic design and get a job in this field instead of boring old localization support...even if it is just part time!!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to read another perspective on the big goals. Matt and I sat down on New Years Eve Eve and tried to write a five year plan. It was something that I had put on our goal list last year, testing the waters to see if he was in for the long haul as well, I realized this as we struggled to come up with smaller plans for our next five years. He is. On our list is get engaged, get married, travel to Brazil for the World Cup, and try to have a little one, one goal for each year. We weren't able to get much more specific than that, since life could change and jobs could change, but were in it together. :)
ReplyDeleteI feel ya on the givens and then finishing school... and realizing things aren't givens anymore. Le sigh.
ReplyDeleteO, and, I WANT TO GO TO EUROPE WITH MY HUBBY, TOO!