Fueling for the Long-Term Road Ahead

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Each year brings the opportunity for self-growth, improvement, and perseverance. It is important to note that we do not need to wait an entire year to set goals for ourselves, but rather, continue the promising trajectory of professional development initiated in prior years.

Short-term goals should be made simple. The more elaborate the goal, the harder it is to attain. Moreover, short-term goals should be specific, simple, and attainable. These are the "confidence boosters", if you will. We are more likely to achieve success by accomplishing smaller feats, and these "confidence boosters" give us a sense of pride. 

We use these short-term goals as fuel for tackling our long-term goals.

Specifically, it is crucial to highlight your long-term goals physically on paper. Goals in the mind are dreams, and dreams never come to fruition.

You need to put your dreams out into the universe and manifest your success. I do this by writing down my goals on paper, and keeping track of exactly what I have to do in a systematic manner so that I can tackle said goal by this date. 

Deadlines are of paramount importance. What are goals if we do not set ourselves to a deadline? Essentially, we would be working towards something unattainable and unrealistic. Deadlines underscore the exigency of completion, which makes the goal crucial to our personal and professional development. A sound mantra is as follows: short-term goals are those I will complete in a month. Long-term goals are those I will complete by the end of six months to a year.

Keeping track of your goals is of particular importance. This is where using spreadsheet software is useful because it organizes your goals and you are able to graphically interpret them should you desire. In any business setting, it is important to present your data in a graphical format as it succinctly highlights your progress in a time-efficient manner. This makes for thorough practice when you enter the professional world where simply writing and speaking about your success unfortunately does not suffice. 

"A sound mantra is as follows: short-term goals are those I will complete in a month. Long-term goals are those I will complete by the end of six months to a year."

Furthermore, attaining goals is a confidence game. Realize that only you are in control of your success. Thus, have that confidence to provide you with "fuel" which will propel yourself in achieving your long-term goals. Thus, be consistent in this goal-achievement endeavor. You cannot be equivocal in your intentions. Either you want to succeed, or you do not; there is no in between. And those in between are merely living in an illusion. Success takes dedication, initiative, persistence, and relentless sacrifice. 

Sacrifice is the price to pay for strong personal growth and success. 

I will conclude in echoing the importance of how much you want to succeed. There will certainly be a long road ahead. Make sure you are prepared; however, know how proud you should be of yourself for sticking to your plan, and tempering yourself along the way. This is your journey; you are in the driver's seat. 

"This is your journey; you are in the driver's seat."

As always, please leave a comment indicating your opinions/suggestions for further content and discussion. I want to know how you are doing in your journey towards professional development. We are in this together.

Until next time, ciao!

~Christine