“Where do you see yourself in five years?” That’s my most dreaded question to be asked. If you heard my answer from five years ago and compared it to where I am right now you would see why I avoid replying.
Five years ago, my vision of my future involved a different state, environment, and lifestyle. I desired to finally get out of Land O’ Lakes, FL. I would be attending an out of state university and going into my junior year. I would have an apartment off campus with my best friend that I made the year before. My studies would focus on Medicine and Business with an internship at either a hospital or marketing company. All of these plans were set in my mind as facts of my future.
My current life did not go as I planned. Now I attend the University of South Florida with the same academic plan but the most prevalent goal I set of myself five years ago was to get out of Florida and be something outside of this place, which I have yet to accomplish. That’s right, I said yet…
For a long time I writhed with contentment because I did not achieve my goals. Time has passed and I have learned to understand what the genuine value of a goal is. Life never goes as you plan. Complications pop up out of nowhere and alter your route but that does not mean your goals cannot be attained. There are copious paths that can be taken to reach your ambitions.
I now recognize that I can still reach my goals in my life, though it may not happen in the timing I expect. Goals are an idea or object of a person’s ambition. They are not timed plans that will disappear after five years, they need to be nurtured and prepared, and this can take days or years. Setting a timed goal is not flawed but recognize that if the time passes and your goals are still not close to being achieved, know that you haven't failed. There may come another road in your life that will lead you to where you want to be, do not lose grasp of you goal and continue to strive for it until a path opens up and allows you to fulfill it!
Here are 3 goal setting tips that I have found useful in my own life:
Write down your goal
I am definitely a visual person so by writing my goal down somewhere that I always see it, I am constantly reminded that I have a purpose and am working to achieve. It’s a great daily reminder, especially on days that you are lacking motivation!
Make an action plan
Plan out how you are aiming to reach your goal, make a to do list! I get the greatest sensation of seeing my plans for the day written down on my planner and then crossing each task off my list as I complete them. Action plans are a lot like day planners. If you think about it, events in your day do not go as planned so sometimes you need to scratch something off, change a task, or add more. Action plans are the same, they are not chiseled into stone, they are flexible. The deeper we go into achieving a goal, the more we learn so keep updating you plan with your new ideas!
Stick with it
As cliché as this sounds, do not give up! Yeah, life sucks sometimes, things do not go the way we plan but, do not let a second-rate day cause you to discard your hopes and dreams!
