How do you plan your future? I always start to think about goal setting for next year when it starts getting close to the 4th quarter.
I find it is much easier to plan a vacation than it is to plan my future.
When I go on a road trip I either use Mapquest or Google maps to figure out how long it takes and the best way to get there. Then I start using other tools like Yelp, Urbanspoon, and Google to start searching out places to go and where to eat.
→ When do you start thinking about the future and your goals?
→ What do you use to plan and visualize your dreams and goals?
→ Do you write them down and follow them like you do the directions to get to your destination?
The surprising thing is that many people don’t do any of this.
Or if they do, they write them down and neglect to look at them on a regular basis or maybe even wait until it is getting close to the end of the year when they are thinking about next year’s goals.
Your level of success in life is directly proportional to your level of planning and control.
-Charles J. Givens Super Self: Doubling Your Personal Effectiveness
Writing your goals and plans and ideas makes them more real.
Every step, even the tiniest ones you take towards those goals increases the chance that you will actually achieve them. It can be as simple as writing a list and taping it to your bathroom mirror where you can see them.
Or, if you really want to have fun, create a vision board.
I’ve been creating vision boards myself for the last 5 years and every year I pick a theme for the year and the whole board revolves around that. For 2013 I picked Systematize, Organize and Delegate as my theme.
I had a blast working on it in December – I am secretly a crafting junkie so this gave me a outlet to let my creative juices flow!
I keep the whole pile of my boards in my office where I can see them daily with the most current one on top.
And it isn’t an accident that everything I have been working on and accomplishing in the past 3 has all been related to those 3 areas. It’s the power of subliminal suggestion and the fact that I chose three things that I knew would really take both myself and my business to the next level.
As a result, I now find that creating systems and problem solving are much easier. I’m building my team and creating systems to train and delegate to them that are really beginning to work well.
Here’s a quick look at my vision board process:
→ September-October: Start thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2014 and decide on what my overall theme is.
→ October-November: Collect Magazines and brochures, rip out pages of things that pertain to my overall theme
→ December: Go shopping for my vision board and any kind of embellishments I want to add to my board
→ The last week in December: Write out my goals and create my vision board
Take some time, think about where you want to go, and don’t wait to start building that road map. You’ll find that it makes the journey that much easier.
