No matter who we are, how successful we’ve already become, how well educated we are, or what type of personality we have, developing specific goals and constantly working toward achieving those goals are among the key ingredients for success. As we define what our personal, professional and financial goals are, make sure that the goals are in fact our own, and that they’re not being imposed on us by other people. Sure, our parents, spouse, friends, or other relatives may encourage us or push us toward certain achievements. However, it’s important that the goals we choose to pursue are our
own and that they are things we truly want to accomplish for ourselves.At times, the pressure that will be put on us by other people, such as a parent who wants us to follow in his or her footsteps, can be intense and even overwhelming. To achieve happiness and success in the long term, however, our actions and decisions must be our own. Of course, utilizing the advice, support, and motivation from others is definitely acceptable and encouraged. Based upon where we are in our life right now, write down specific goals we have for yourself in the following three areas : personal, professional, and financial. To keep things simple, consider a short-term goal as something we want to achieve within the next 12 months. A long-term goal is something that will take over one year to achieve.
As we write out our goals, make sure they’re realistic. For example, if we’re earning a comfortable living as a Certified Public Accountant but we’ve decided that our goal is to design and build fine furniture, we’ll need to be very realistic about the financial sacrifice we’ll be making, at least in the short term, and the difficulties we might encounter by following this less traditional career path. Being realistic will help us focus our efforts and give our dreams a solid foundation that we can use to build our success. A realistic appraisal of the risks, effort required, and chances of success may cause
us to re-evaluate some overly ambitious goals. Always make sure that our goals can be met with an amount of risk and effort with which we are comfortable.Personal Goals
Personal goals deal primarily with self-improvement, relationships, and family issues. An example of a short-term personal goal might be to clean and organize our entire house within the next two weeks, or to meet five new people during the next month whom we consider dating in order to expand our social life. An example of a long-term personal goal might be to get married and to have children within the next five to eight years, or to move out of our parents’ house and get our own apartment within the next year.
Professional Goals
Professional goals pertain to career or job-related issues. An example of a short-term professional goal might be to find and land a first job (by the time we graduate from school). A short-term career related goal might also be to earn a raise or promotion within the next year, or to ace our next quarterly employee evaluation. An example of a long-term career goal might be to move up the corporate ladder where we’re currently employed and ultimately become a senior vice president within the next three to five years.
Financial Goals
Financial goals have to do with money, investments and assets. An example of a short-term financial goal might be to pay off our credit card debt within the next eight months. A long-term financial goal might be to acquire a personal net worth of $300,000 dollars by the time we reach age 45, or to build up a stock or investment portfolio worth of over $100,000 within the next four years.
note: originally posted at Triond.com under the same author.
