No matter how big or small, we all have a set of goals in life. Goals drive us to do our day to day activities and work towards our dreams and aspirations. Without goals, we would just be standing completely still all day. All my life, I've acknowledged that I have goals and shared them with friends and family, but earlier this year, I realized I was doing something wrong.

Even though I had a lot of clear goals set in place to become a person who was successful in life, and formed positive connections and bonds along the way, I realized that I was nowhere near where I wanted to be in terms of what I was doing with my life.

After thinking for a while about why this was the case, I figured out that there's a difference between having goals and having concrete goals. I knew what I wanted in life, but I didn't have the self-discipline to thoroughly think out exactly what I wanted and how I was going to achieve it. Eventually, I realized the solution was simple. All I needed to do was WRITE MY GOALS DOWN.

As soon as I had this revelation, I got a piece of paper and just wrote a few things that I wanted to achieve by the end of the year. Some goals I listed were "eat healthier, "make Dean's List," and "record a full-length album.

By looking at a few goals on a sheet of paper, I then began to plan our how I would accomplish them: ween out super sugary drinks, plan homework time in advance, etc. Over the course of the next few weeks, I noticed a change in my attitude. I was suddenly feeling more willing to do things and find purpose and meaning in what I was doing.

The result was a very productive summer where I embraced a healthier lifestyle fueled by my love of Mediterranean food, made great connections as a musician, worked a great internship, and went into my senior year of college feeling good about what was ahead.

Now in October, I'm still feeling fantastic, but added an extra step. This month, I decided to set a few MONTHLY goals as well, and these got written down just like the yearly ones.

They include mostly simple things, like getting immersed in a job I recently got and getting through midterms with good grades, but now that they're written down and "official," I suddenly feel more dedicated to achieving them. I guess it really is difficult to break a promise to yourself, and writing my goals down has really helped me become a more accountable person.

I was never one to believe that writing goals would actually work, but for me, it's worked fantastically. Having them on paper really helps me develop self-discipline and allows me to really think about the logistics of what I should be doing. If you have goals, and you find yourself struggling to achieve them or get the motivation to do so, try writing them down. It won't take very long, and just might go a long way to a better you!