Oh, goals. It’s a broad topic that’s different for everyone. We’re all in different phases of our lives, with various ambitions and motivations. We’ve grown up in unique families in numerous environments. Despite these differences, goals are a constant in our lives.

I’ve always been a goal-oriented person who is pushed by competition. I used to be a loud advocate for planners, until it became a trigger for my anxiety. Don’t get me wrong, planners can be lifesavers and can settle a worried mind by organizing everything in lists. But it stopped working for me a few months ago.

Whenever I need to write a reminder down or I have a thought, I immediately open the “Notes” app on my phone. I have close to 100 notes, most of which I have forgotten about. There are notes for school, article ideas, directions to places, quotes, etc. In the mist of all these reminders and thoughts are goal posts. They are relevant to school and taking steps towards my future career.

My notes on goals are lists on what I want to accomplish in the next few months and years. My five-year plan is constantly changing but I do know what needs to get done by next year. I’m sure you’ve heard that writing down things can be powerful. The act of writing can help you memorize things better and keep it at the forefront of your mind. Although I’m not physically writing down my goals, they become concrete when I type them out.

Time and time again, I’ve looked through my notes and read my goal posts. It’s unbelievable to me when I discover that I have accomplished what I set myself out to do. I wrote my goals down and worked every day towards them until they became a reality.

It’s never too late to set goals. Big tasks seem less frightening when they’re broken down into smaller tasks that you can tackle daily. Regardless of where you are in life, what you want to be or where you want to go, there’s always a future waiting and you can help shape it by doing a little bit of work today.