Vision Goals
I posted a couple of months ago about GOALS. This post will not be the same, so if you want to hear about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals and short term goals, I recommend you check out that post.
This post is about something bigger than that. I'm talking about LIFE goals, a vision for the future and what I hope to accomplish over a long period of time. What are the mountains I am going to climb?
A few weeks ago, as we were discussing my quarterly goals at work, my boss asked me how I became a person that sets goals. I thought that everyone sets goals, but as I've asked my friends and family lately, apparently that's not true.
I really didn't know what to tell her, and honestly, I kind of forget what I said.
But as I think about it more, I think it is for two reasons. The first is that I am slightly a perfectionist (but not in all areas of life, like cleaning, for example). I like to be the best I can be when I try new things. And I want to be the best I can be in life too. The second reason is that when I am dying (if I get the chance to look back on my life anyway), I hope that I will be able to feel content with what I put out there in order to find success and make a mark on the world.
I haven't decided what it is I want my life to stand for exactly, or what big accomplishment I hope to achieve, but I do know that I want it to be something BIG.
And as I've gone through life, almost 30 years of it 🤯, I've realized that great things usually don't just happen to you. They don't just show up on your doorstep. I spent too much time just waiting around to see if something amazing was going to happen for me.
But nothing did. And the time I spent blowing off opportunities that had presented themselves, was lost forever. If I had just put a little bit of effort in...
So I started deciding what it was I needed to set in motion, and I started working towards it. Slowly, sure, but always in that direction.
While I am still figuring out what this big puzzle picture might turn out to be, I have a few long-term goals in mind. I read a book recently, called Girl, Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis, and she said that it is important to state your goals, and that sometimes, if you state them for others to hear, you may be surprised by the support you receive instead of the shame or embarrassment you might have thought you would receive. It also makes you more likely to achieve your goals, if you actually say what they are.
So here goes nothing. Here are my current long-term goals:
1. Become a bilingual SLP.
2. Become a polyglot (by my standards)/achieve near-native levels in at least 5 languages (includes English).
3. Travel to every region of the world (meaning more specific than continents, but less specific than individual countries).
4. Find long-term remission for my ulcerative colitis (as well as avoid other chronic conditions).
5. Retire by age 50.
I have been working to achieve these goals for a very long time. These are the goals that motivate me to reach my short-term goals, and keep me trucking every day of the week.
I didn't list goals for family, because generally I have the goal that my family will live long and happy lives, but I am not always the one in control of that. I also do not have a goal for being married or having a certain amount of kids, because I feel like sometimes life goes in a direction which you never imagined, and it ends up being the right thing for you.
Which brings me to my next point...
If I choose at any time to change these goals, it is OKAY. I repeat, it is OKAY. This is not the same as giving up. This means that this goal is no longer important to me, OR there is actually no possible way that the goal could be achieved (such as I turn 51 and realize I can no longer retire by 50), and I may find something else more fitting for my new situation.
And as I grow, and my circumstances change in the stages of life, I'm sure I will find some new goals.
What do you work for everyday? Is it to have that quality time with your family every night? Is it to achieve a larger goal down the line? Is it just to put some food on the table and survive?
Whatever your goals are, I hope you will share them with me, and we can support each other to accomplish some BIG THINGS.
This post is about something bigger than that. I'm talking about LIFE goals, a vision for the future and what I hope to accomplish over a long period of time. What are the mountains I am going to climb?
A few weeks ago, as we were discussing my quarterly goals at work, my boss asked me how I became a person that sets goals. I thought that everyone sets goals, but as I've asked my friends and family lately, apparently that's not true.
I really didn't know what to tell her, and honestly, I kind of forget what I said.
But as I think about it more, I think it is for two reasons. The first is that I am slightly a perfectionist (but not in all areas of life, like cleaning, for example). I like to be the best I can be when I try new things. And I want to be the best I can be in life too. The second reason is that when I am dying (if I get the chance to look back on my life anyway), I hope that I will be able to feel content with what I put out there in order to find success and make a mark on the world.
I haven't decided what it is I want my life to stand for exactly, or what big accomplishment I hope to achieve, but I do know that I want it to be something BIG.
And as I've gone through life, almost 30 years of it 🤯, I've realized that great things usually don't just happen to you. They don't just show up on your doorstep. I spent too much time just waiting around to see if something amazing was going to happen for me.
But nothing did. And the time I spent blowing off opportunities that had presented themselves, was lost forever. If I had just put a little bit of effort in...
So I started deciding what it was I needed to set in motion, and I started working towards it. Slowly, sure, but always in that direction.
While I am still figuring out what this big puzzle picture might turn out to be, I have a few long-term goals in mind. I read a book recently, called Girl, Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis, and she said that it is important to state your goals, and that sometimes, if you state them for others to hear, you may be surprised by the support you receive instead of the shame or embarrassment you might have thought you would receive. It also makes you more likely to achieve your goals, if you actually say what they are.
So here goes nothing. Here are my current long-term goals:
1. Become a bilingual SLP.
2. Become a polyglot (by my standards)/achieve near-native levels in at least 5 languages (includes English).
3. Travel to every region of the world (meaning more specific than continents, but less specific than individual countries).
4. Find long-term remission for my ulcerative colitis (as well as avoid other chronic conditions).
5. Retire by age 50.
I have been working to achieve these goals for a very long time. These are the goals that motivate me to reach my short-term goals, and keep me trucking every day of the week.
I didn't list goals for family, because generally I have the goal that my family will live long and happy lives, but I am not always the one in control of that. I also do not have a goal for being married or having a certain amount of kids, because I feel like sometimes life goes in a direction which you never imagined, and it ends up being the right thing for you.
Which brings me to my next point...
If I choose at any time to change these goals, it is OKAY. I repeat, it is OKAY. This is not the same as giving up. This means that this goal is no longer important to me, OR there is actually no possible way that the goal could be achieved (such as I turn 51 and realize I can no longer retire by 50), and I may find something else more fitting for my new situation.
And as I grow, and my circumstances change in the stages of life, I'm sure I will find some new goals.
What do you work for everyday? Is it to have that quality time with your family every night? Is it to achieve a larger goal down the line? Is it just to put some food on the table and survive?
Whatever your goals are, I hope you will share them with me, and we can support each other to accomplish some BIG THINGS.
Catch you on the next one.
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