Some people are goal oriented, and some are not. I am the type of person that plans my life out ten or twenty years in advance. I have it mapped out step by step, and I know where I am going and what I want. Of course life does not always match up with my plan. Sometimes it turns out much better or other times it takes an entirely different direction from what I’ve planned. As I’ve grown older I’ve found that having a general goal for the distant future is good, but I like to focus on the immediate things that I want to change. (Immediate meaning from one month to one year.) That way I’m not overanalyzing and getting too caught in things that I can’t do anything about for some time.
We are counseled to continually strive to be a little bit better, and to strive a little bit harder. It is important to realize that we are not going to change the world around us or ourselves overnight. We need to take time to change things a little bit at a time. As we focus on one or two aspects of our lives, it is a time to really form new habits, and once we have done that we can form new habits again.
An important part of goal setting and actually following through is allowing time for self-reflection. We often don’t realize how far we have come until we look back at where we were. It is important to do this with all goals whether they are spiritual, physical, financial or family oriented. These moments of self-reflection allow us to look back, and look forward, and then begin working on the present again.
If you are someone who balks at the ideas of writing down a goal and planning, you should still have a general idea of what you want to do and what you want to accomplish. Keeping a journal can help you track your progress without focusing so much on the steps and the process. The middle of the year is a great time to look back at your New Year’s resolutions and assess what you’ve accomplished, and what you want to continue to work on.
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