We have somuchmore2do. So let us get to work.
At a point in your life, it will become necessary for you to either slow down or stop entirely and take stock of what your life is actually all about. In doing this, there are few central questions that you have to ask yourself. Where am I? How did I get here? Where do I want to be? How do I get to where I want to be? And after I get there, what next?
Life is nothing but a string of experiences. As such, what you have learned from those strings of experiences will play a vital part in how your life is shaped. How can you put into practice some of those things that you have learned and direct them towards your set goals?
One of the most important aspects of your life is the self awareness of who you are and what it is that actually makes you to become who you are. Self awareness and identification is the very core foundation of your success.
As you try to make some sense out of your life, go through this process and ask yourself a few questions.
1. The first question you need to ask yourself, then, is who am I? You have to be able to figure out your wholesomeness in order to be able to move forward in life. Sit down and take stock of who you are. You will be surprised at what you come up with.
2. Where are my situated in my life’s journey? There is an adage that if you do not know where you are going, you should at least know where you are coming from or where you are. Are you at a destination in your life that you think you are supposed to be? Or are you just going around life aimlessly?
3. Where do I want to be? Significantly important to the first two questions is deciding for yourself what your destination in life should be. A lot of times we stride through life without actually figuring out where we want to end up being. And this is where setting goals become a necessity. Setting a goal to achieve or arrive at a destination is like a road map. It will surely lead you there. Sure, there are times when some unavoidable roadblocks might lead to a detour, but the goals that have been set will bring you back to the right road.
4. Am I willing to do what it takes to reach my goals? Simple as this might sound, setting goals is only a part of knowing where you want to be. How will you achieve those goals? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to reach your destination point? Are you willing to make some sacrifices?
5. What are my life’s passions? You have to be passionate about something or destination for you to set your goal to achieve that. Many times we tend to want to be what we do not have the flair or passion for. Your road to success will be paved with joy if you shoot for those things that bring excitement and joy into your life. If you are a mechanical engineer who has no desire whatsoever to study human anatomy and physiology, why would you be setting a goal of becoming a medical doctor?
6. What are my strengths and weaknesses? We all have things in our lives that in one way or another act as impediments to our success. Are you a procrastinator? Do you get your decision making process paralyzed by over analysis of information? Do you hate to make sacrifices? Do you lose focus of your objectives easily? What am I good at doing? To achieve success, you have to find a way to jettison these and other negatives in your life and stress on your strengths.
7. Do I have any support structures? Nobody is an island unto themselves. In order to quickly and painlessly achieve success, you need to have a structure in place that you can depend on for support. This could be a buddy or mentor who can guide you and who can be your bouncing board for ideas and information. Experience has shown that those with support structures tend to achieve their set goals easily and completely.
8. Am I willing to share my success? For whom much is given, much is expected. Succeeding through a well defined support structure requires a payback. Giving back to those who are trying to be successful like you either financially, through mentoring, or just being there to assist, is one of the best attributes of a successful person.
9. Is my glass half full or half empty? A positive attitude is very essential if your goal is to be successful. A plane load of ideas and goals could become nothing but a pile of wants if your mental capability is focused towards the negative. You are what you believe and feel passionate that you can be. Think positive. Act like you are already a success. A positive attitude attracts positive things. Never see your glass as half empty. It should always be half full.
10. What next? It is time for you to seriously start thinking about setting goals. Remember that time is against you. And you cannot achieve goals unless you set them. Goal setting is not as difficult as most people think it is. Just be realistic with yourself but do not underrate your abilities. The human machine is capable of a lot of extra ordinary things.
P.S. There are two very inexpensive instruments that could play a very vital role in whether we succeed or not. Unfortunately for a lot of us, and despite the abundance, cheapness, and ease of use of these equipments, we always fail to use them. What are they? Pen and paper. Make it a practice to learn how to write down ideas and goals as often as possible. Despite the limitless potential of the human brain to think and retain information, the brain is not designed to always retain and always be able to retrieve certain information as needed. There is a lag process that occurs and by the time some of those great ideas or goals surface, if they do at all, they might become dated. In your quest to be successful, make the pen and paper your bosom buddies. They will never betray your trust.
To Your Fulfilled Future
Emmanuel A. Tom
