Establishing Goals and Creating a Life Plan

Last Sunday was the first day I got out of the house and went on a run since the birth of my son three months ago; a period of time, which, despite everyone telling me has gone really fast has felt like at least a year. I managed fifteen minutes running, probably not even enough to get my heart into a proper rhythm.

Upon my weary return, my wife was supportive, reminding me that it was my first venture out in quite some time and our nightly sleep is still far from peaceful or unbroken. However, I was not disheartened by my feeble attempt at distance and pace, for I’ve been looking at the bigger picture.

Goals and Plans

I think it was the business magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie who said that we should set goals that command our thoughts, liberate our energy and inspire our hopes. Lofty sentiments indeed but ones which I have taken to heart with my recent self-assessment and goal setting. I have for quite some time been living my life without specific goals in mind. Yet, with family and work-life pressures increasing, I have come to need a more structured approach, something like a plan to guide my actions and efforts.

“Without a plan, people often default to whatever is easiest, such as television watching, and waste their private time. If you waste 4 hours a day, which is not uncommon, then you are wasting 1400 hours a year. That is equivalent to 35 40-hour workweeks, which is almost as much as the typical individual spends at his or her job every year.” – The Future-Authoring Program

I have previously mentioned Warren Buffet’s process of life planning and orientation, but I only entertained the sentiment briefly, found it to be too limiting and did not stick with his idea. In fact, I literally lasted days with the restrictions. However, I put more time and effort into working on a plan and setting achievable goals through ‘Self-Authoring‘.

With the Future-Authoring Program, I answered several questions in quick succession to conjure up an ideal life for myself, followed by identifying and prioritizing a number of goals which would see me achieve such a future in five years. I then answered detailed questions on each of the goals, elaborating on what would help and hinder me, and explaining how I would monitor progress.

There were a couple of things that came out of the exercise. The most pertinent was that I set in a hierarchy the things I want out of the future, based around the aim of achieving a meaningful life for myself and young family. The second was that through ranking eight goals I established that the maintenance of a reciprocal and fulfilling relationship with my wife is the core component for my own happiness and stability.

To elaborate, supporting each other to be the best versions of ourselves will enhance the possibilities of success in other areas of our lives. Some of my goals are a bit self-centred and others are more generous. The amount of time I spend on each will to a large degree be dictated by their place in the rank order. The crucial thing is that going forward the eight goals will frame my behaviour in a positive way and give me a why so that I can work out the how to get to where I want to be.

Final Thoughts

It is early days, but I would recommend the Self-Authoring process to anyone who wants more structure to their decisions and to guide their day-to-day actions. Holding a concrete aspiration and detailed vision for yourself in mind takes the tedium out of the daily grind, and will help structure a narrative. Over the long term, it will ensure that you not only survive each day but live your life in a way that is meaningful for you. This will only help you prosper.