Goal Setting

There are few things in life more important than setting goals for ourselves. Although it seems unimportant, I believe we overlook the opportunity to write our goals out more often than we think. My whole lesson focused on setting goals and figuring out the future. As someone who lives very in the moment I found it a nice break to focus on what is to come. Too often I focus on what is in front of me, and I neglect to pay the future the attention it deserves.

I read something this week that I found to be quite helpful in looking ahead. In the (what I believe is a pamphlet) "Stars & Steppingstones: Some chances only come around once." by Jeff Sandefer, he wrote an excellent paragraph explaining how to properly visualize one's life:

"Beginning with the end in mind is not about planning every detail of your life. In fact, the entrepreneurial philosophy is based on dealing with uncertainty, not certainty. Beginning with the end in mind is about examining why life is worth living and being true to your own values and dreams. If you have trouble uncovering these fundamental goals and values, it is time to go back to your basic foundations."

I really appreciate what he says about going back to basics. I had a mentor that had the same philosophy. He taught me if things in my life were not going properly "Go back to the grove" he would say. "Find you".

Another person I found to be quite inspirational in this lesson was Randy Pausch. He gave his last lecture titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". He spoke on all of his childhood dreams he was able to achieve. I believe the reason he was able to live his dreams out is due to the fact that he didn't let failure stop him. He visualized when something would hinder his progress, and he went for it anyways!

I personally believe that dreams are important because they allow us something to reach for. Dreams are like goals. They are visual creative steppingstones for us to achieve. Without dreams life would be just a little less creative and interesting. One of my childhood dreams was to go sailing on the ocean. I always loved the thought of this. It seemed like a beautiful and spiritual connection to me and God's creation. This is absolutely obtainable for me today. Dreaming like that allows a sense of self meditation that can be quite relaxing.

The things I learned this week were wonderfully inspiring. I feel like a stronger and more focused individual.