What do you want to achieve in life? What do you wish people will say about you at your funeral? These are difficult questions, but can give guidance to your life and help you to become an achiever.
We call anything that you wish to achieve a dream.
Be SMART
SMART is a method that gives guidance in the setting of objectives. The letters of SMART stand for making objectives specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. Smart can be extended to SMARTER, where the last two letters stand for evaluate and reevaluate.
APPLY SMART to your dreams to make sure that they are realistic…
Now dream, write up your dreams. Tell them to yourself every day. In a positive way, like you’ve already achieved them. (NLP?)
Make a plan
Devide the road to making your dream come true into smaller, realistically achievable steps.
Where are you now? Identify skills and knowledge that you already have and which will help you to achieve your dreams.
What’s your road? Identify skills and knowledge that you do not yet have, but need to achieve your dreams.
Now start acquiring that knowledge and those skills. That’s the first part of doing.
Also identify steps to undertake – that’s more doing.
Every step in your plan that you fulfill, is an achievement that you should be proud of. Even if you don’t realize your dream, each step has brought you closer to it, enriched your life, developed your personality and skills and has brought you closer to realizing your dreams!
Finally, tell your friends about your dreams and endeavours. They might ask you from time to time how you are doing and that will keep you going and on track!
Revise your dreams and paths if at any point you feel that you’re stuck and your dreams or steps are not achievable. Maybe more substeps are necessary? Maybe you want to pursue a different dream instead? Remember that not all dreams in life are compativble. Sometimes we must choose between dreams. And sometimes pursuing a dream will have consequences for your life.