Goal-Setting - Planning Your Career

Have you ever had the experience of wondering how you got to where you are now? Topics like goal setting planning your career and work life balance are not usually taught in school, yet if we don't write goals and pan the steps we need to take to get there, there is every chance we'll end up somewhere completely different.

The importance of goals often only becomes obvious when we realize we haven't achieved them. This is why you should write goals down in a notebook or journal, where you can track them over time. This is particularly true when it comes to reaching our career goals, where goal setting success is vital if we are to experience fulfillment in our lives.
Working out your long and short term goals will enable you to create a plan which will help you get to where you want to be. Writing and reviewing goals on a regular basis will allow you to see if you are making progress or just staying still.

If you set clearly defined short term and long term goals you will be able to measure your progress and eventually achieve personal satisfaction in all areas of your life. As you move towards your goals, your self-confidence will also improve as you see the progress you are making - progress which would be hard to measure if you have not formulated your goals properly and written them down. You will also find that with progress you become more aware of your capabilities, skills and talents, which in turn will also boost your self-esteem.

Knowing how to set goals does not come naturally, as we are often told that we should do what other people think is best for us and that our dreams are unrealistic.

Did you know that people who not only set goal, but also write goals, are much more likely to be successful that those who don't? To get started with your goal setting, you should spend some time really thinking about what you want in every aspect of your life. It's important to make sure that your goals will create a balanced lifestyle and not merely professional success. You can have a great job and plenty of money but still be very lonely.

Once you've set your goals, you have to devise a plan which will help you achieve them. It's a good idea to start off with your long term goals and work backwards, considering job goals, financial goals, relationship goals, goals related to your interests and passions, and spiritual goals. Even if your career goal seems a long way off, setting goals and objectives will make the process a lot easier and probably faster as well. When you have formulated each goal, ask yourself what you need to do to achieve it. For example, if you want to teach at university, the final step might be to get a PhD. If you are not a graduate, you'll need to get your first degree and then an MA and you might want to get some teaching experience as well, before making a final decision. Whatever your goal, there are likely to be qualifications and additional skills which you need to develop. Keep planning backwards from the future and you should find something which you can do today. It might just mean doing some online research or it could be finding job advertisements , or contacting a local college to enquire about gaining some new qualifications.

As you uncover the steps you need to take to achieve your goals, you will see if your career goals are compatible with your lifestyle goals. There will be times when you have to compromise, such as when first starting out in a career which makes big demands on newcomers. An example of this is medicine, where junior doctors have to work extremely long hours. If you have a plan, you will be able to see where compromise is necessary and where it should end.

Another important consideration is that goals change as you get older. So what was important in your 20s may not matter at all by the time you reach 40 or 50. So it is essential to realize that goals will change and you must be flexible - there is no point in working towards a goal if it no longer interests you or conflicts with more important goals which have shown up later in your life. Learn how to set goals, plan your career but allow yourself to change your mind.

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