BREAKING DOWN GOALS: CREATING A VISION PLAN THAT WORKS FOR YOU
One of my favorite things to do is talk about goals and visions with other creative minds—number one, it's really inspiring and number two, it starts the possibility of collaboration, which provides not only a chance to network, but also a chance to create something even more than what you had planned.
But we all know the process and journey is the hardest part. Having dreams is one thing, but then to make it happen is another—and that part is hard, let me tell you.
I have so many people in my life who are blessed with ideas drenched in potential, but no motivation or rather no concrete plan to inch their way to achieving their goals.
Don't get me wrong, things get in the way and life sometimes has its own agenda. Many times I find myself on that track of dreaming, but not really applying anything to my life in order to make sure it happens.
(It's all fun and games, but then when the real work comes into play, sometimes I'd rather sit back and learn to be content with where I am in life.)
Many times though, I think we have a clear vision on what our goal looks like, but the breakdown process is unclear. And the closer we move to reality, the farther our goals seem and the harder it is to motivate ourselves.
(For all those 90s kids out there, think of That's So Raven—she can see the end of the vision, but the process of it is hard to connect.)
So how can we create a pathway to our ambitions and goals with clarity and intention?
Every decision, every relationship—basically everything you do should coincide with your ambitions and dreams. We should be asking ourselves: "Will this push me closer towards my goals?"
I think many times we get caught up in the short term effects or have the attitude of "this has nothing to do with my dreams," but we need to understand that every step we take either gets us closer or farther away from our potential—no matter what our aspirations are.
We all have responsibilities in our lives like work, school, etc., and the lazy bugs have bitten us more times than what we'd like to admit. But once we recognize that we may have limited time, energy and money to spend toward achieving our dreams, it can help us narrow down our list and pinpoint what really needs to get done—it's not about discouraging yourself, it's about embracing reality and kicking your bum into gear.
Plan for setbacks, but don't limit yourself. Yes, there are always obstacles—even the yellow-brick road was a tough adventure, but it didn't stop the Oz gang. Don't limit your success or potential, but be prepared to get rained on. You never know, it might lead to a lesson that could help you create an even stronger roadmap to your goals. As long as the vision is still clear, and your focused on your stepping stones, then you're on the way to achievement.
One of the most important things is finding your purpose and creating a mission statement for yourself and your goal(s). Who said only businesses need mission statements? Create one for yourself in order to always have clear intentions on your passion and purpose. It really puts things in perspective and creates a blueprint for what you're building.
What do you do and why do you do it? How did you get to where you are now?
Think about questions like these—write it down in a journal and hold yourself accountable. The first step is to get your goals out of your head and onto paper so you can visually map out a plan. This will be your guide, but don't forget it can change and evolve, just the same as you—it's not written in stone, so don't throw everything away when something doesn't work out as planned.
I alway read things about how life is one big learning experience, but if we don't really make a conscious effort to learn and grow from the past and present, how are we going to better our future? The key to navigating to your future and accomplishments is that we have to first evaluate what worked and what didn't in order to plan for better outcomes.
It's not just about creativity and optimism, it's also about strategies. Take your goals and reformat them into a question. From this original question, start narrowing your focus, this will create steps and tasks in order to reach your vision.
After creating smaller goals, then you can really determine where these tasks fit into your life and what you need to do in order for you to meet your end result.
It might not be instant gratification, but it will be worth it. Your goals, career, relationships and life in general don't need a direct connection, but they need to be beneficial to your growth along with the ability to provide achievable and real actions to each dream.
Goals are scary, especially when we're used to daydreaming about them rather than mapping them out and breaking them down—but the outcome is greater than the work, time and energy you'll put in.
Who knows, maybe 2017 is the year that we actually make things happen.