A few months ago, I posted a photo of a list I had written in 2004 about the things I wanted to achieve in life. I’m currently obsessed with these Daiso grid index cards, and have been taking around a small stack with me for random thoughts and notes that don’t seem to fit anywhere in my current planning system. (Incidentally, it’s been a really efficient way of filing my ideas at the end of the month and revisiting random thoughts, but I digress…). Anyway, I’ve been trying to update my list since that post, and today, I’m finally happy with my life goals for the next ten years.
There’s not much more that I want to achieve, and I’m sure that as my life changes in the next year, I’ll be adding and taking away a few of these. I didn’t really have any sort of process in coming up with the items on this list. I tended to think about different aspects in my life – family, personal relationships, career, creative pursuits, etc. – and considered what I could possibly achieve given a decade to complete it. What resources do I have? Do I need to consider any life changes (e.g. house, finances, baby, etc.) in order to achieve these goals? What can I do each year in order to achieve these goals? Do they seem realistic given that circumstances can change in a decade?
I’m not a goal-setter by nature, and have lived most of my life just playing it by ear and living spontaneously. I’m a paradox considering that I plan meticulously at times… but I only plan for that day or the immediate future. I’ve always had an ‘idea’ of where I want to be, so I plod away bit by bit without ever actually really putting that much thought into it. I don’t like pressure because I get anxious and stressed, and it takes a lot out of me to deal with the fallout or the success of something… but I’m working on it – the anxiety and stress, not the pressure! There are times when I will sit down and brainstorm a multitude of ideas and map out these elaborate plans, but then I put it aside and revisit it when I feel that I’m ready again. I like pacing myself, and that might be what’s lead me to achieving ‘adulthood milestones’ in my 30s instead of my 20s like the majority of my same-aged peers, but I feel fulfilled. I don’t have regrets (maybe except for the one time I drank too much tequila and concussed myself on a toilet bowl, but…) and I feel like my life experiences have certainly held me to good stead going into my 30s. I’m still naïve in some ways (like all the jargon that gets thrown around when buying a house), but I’m allowed to make mistakes, and a certain sense of naivety helps me see the silver lining when there’s a lot of dark matter around.
Are you a goal setter? What’s your goal achievement time frame? How do you go about achieving your goals? Are you planned and meticulous, or fly the seat of your pants?
dm
Sadie says
Hi Dee! I was drawn to your old blog by searching bullet journalling and then ended up here! I’m writing to you because your old 2004 list really resonated with me for many of your goals. I dropped out of college a few of years ago but continued again in 2014. I’m in last semester for my Psychology degree and finally about to be done. I’m also feeling like “never will I study again,” but that might change. How did you find yourself going back to study? And why SLP? We seem to have similar interests (visual/musical art, psychology, traveling) and I was wondering more about what your path looked like from bachelors to now, in a school and career sense?
To answer your questions: I am somewhat a goal setter. I’m a lot like you in the sense that I’ll have an idea of what I like and don’t like but, I don’t really fully actively pursue something I like. I avoid actively pursuing because of stress and anxiety but also because I genuinely like a lot of things. I want to do everything and end up not focusing on any one thing. :( Maybe it’ll be to my advantage at some point? Not sure. For the (very short term) goals I do set which are usually: make money, travel and become better at creative stuff, I’ll keep the goals in mind and actively try to do things that get me closer to those goals. But not in any planned way at all. I would like to try focusing on more long term changes (moving out of the country, realizing a career) like I do my short term ones because I do achieve my goals when I set them!
Hope to hear from you! :)
Dee says
Hi Sadie! Thanks for stopping by my blog and for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response :) Also congratulations on getting to the end of your Psychology degree! It’s a hard slog, but such a good feeling when it’s all over.
To answer your questions, after I finished off in psych, there weren’t very many jobs that I could apply for ten years ago in the field of forensic psychology – it was a relatively young field in Australia back in the day. The only way I could get in was to become a police officer, and I’m not a fan of firearms, let alone violence, so that didn’t leave me with very many options. The plus side to having finished psych was that there were a lot of transferable skills that I could use in other professions. I found myself in administrative roles in various fields, along with call centre work when I was travelling, and then got into some design/marketing work for a little while. I did that for about 6 years before my husband and I were at wits’ working odd jobs and not having any stability. I’d always thought about becoming an SLP, even before going into psych, because it combines my love of language, science and creativity. I’m not really sure why I didn’t do it sooner rather than later, but I think having had all that experience prior really helps me connect with the people I work with.
We think the same way when it comes to goals :) It sounds like you have a plan in order to achieve them, and I’m sure that once you get in your stride on one of those, nothing can stop you! I’d love to hear how you go with your pursuits, if you wanted to share. Send me an email if you like :)