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Life Planning |
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Life planning is a process
by which a person takes a more proactive role in planning his or her
life. Life planning combines personal reflection and goal-setting in
a somewhat formalized or structured process to arrive at a plan to
achieve specific goals. No one is in complete control of all life’s
events, nor is anyone at the complete mercy of random chance, luck
or fate. There is the area between the two extremes in which a
person can exert greater influence over the course of his or her
life. Life-altering decisions are made daily, and aligning those
daily decisions according to a life plan will help you reach the
goals you’ve set. Here are some life planning recommendations that
will help make the process easy and rewarding for you:
Life Planning Recommendation #1: Formalize
It
Most people spend more time each year on grocery lists
than on a plan for their life. Take your life planning seriously,
but have fun with it. Set aside time without distractions to
contemplate and decide what your goals and aspirations are. Commit
your thoughts to paper or a goal-setting application, such as myGoals.com.
Life
Planning Recommendation #2: Seek Guidance
If you’re not
comfortable with personal reflection and self-analysis, you may find
it useful to have a coach or mentor help you with your life
planning.
Life Planning Recommendation #3: Set Your
Goals (Very Important Step)
Clearly determine what your
goals are. Be specific.
- Bad: “To travel more”
- Good: “To Backpack through Europe Next Summer”
It
is best to manage some short-term, some mid-term, and some long-term
goals at the same time.
Life Planning Recommendation
#4: Create Your Goalplans® (Very Important
Step)
Identify and list all the obstacles standing
between you and the goal. Identify resources, assistance,
information or anything else that might be needed to reach the goal.
As you're writing, don’t get discouraged by the obstacles–they’re an
absolutely necessary part of your plan. Taking each obstacle one at
a time, write one or more ways the obstacle could be overcome. These
are tasks (or action items) that will comprise your to-do list.
Expect to have several tasks per obstacle. Assign a start and
completion date to each task in the plan. It’s ok to be working on
several different tasks at the same time, but don’t over do it. Be
realistic.
Life Planning Recommendation #5: Share
Your Plans with Others
No one becomes successful alone.
Individual achievement is greatly impacted by your abilities to ask
for assistance, solicit support from friends, family, co-workers,
mentors and others with experienced in the area of your pursuit.
Only involve those people who will truly support your efforts.
Life Planning Recommendation #6:
Persevere
Some of the most rewarding achievements require
the greatest investment in time and resources. Having a commitment
to persevere, especially when faced with obstacles, is a key
differentiator between success and giving up too soon.
Life Planning Recommendation #7: Reassess and Be
Flexible
Circumstances change, unexpected events occur,
and your life plan and goals should be updated to adapt to changes.
Use myGoals.com to help
construct your GoalPlansTM and modify it regularly. Don’t
be afraid to change your priorities and reassess your direction.
Life planning is a dynamic process and full of unforeseeable
opportunities.
Life Planning Recommendation #8: Enjoy
the Journey
Life planning is an ongoing, exciting way to
better chart your course through life as opposed to simply drifting
or being at the whims of fate. This is your life–make of it what you
can and enjoy the process.
Life Planning Tools & ResourcesmyGoals.com (this Web
site) was designed to help your life planning and goal-setting
process.
myGoals.com's pre-made GoalPlans, goal-setting
wizard, and email reminders are extremely effective in creating
viable plans and keeping you on track. Each GoalPlan is broken down
into small, manageable tasks that you are reminded about via e-mail
at just the right time in accordance with your plan. This way
pursuit of your life plan become a part of your regular routine
rather than being push aside by everything else going on in your
life.
To learn more or sign up for a
free trial, visit our goal-setting homepage.
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