Vacation Planning Versus Life Planning
My family and I were recently discussing taking a winter vacation this year. If you are anything like us, when you are thinking of a vacation – big or small – you spend a lot of time talking about it and planning it.
First we sat down and talked about where we wanted to go. We decided some of our criteria for the trip: sun, heat, beach, ocean, etc. Then we chose the date that we would like to go on vacation. From there we can book what we would like, and then figure out all the steps we need to take to be ready to go.
Our list was something along the lines of: book time off work, get passports renewed, buy travel insurance, find someone to watch the dogs, buy any needed supplies for the trip, (like shorts, sun block & hats) arrange for travel to the airport, pack, leave for the airport at X time, arrive at airport at X time and depart at X time.
Naturally, so that we can remember to do these things, and remember the crucial dates things need to be done by (i.e. – passports MUST be renewed by this date to get them in time!) we write it all done and schedule it into our planners. We all excitedly gather around the brochures and choose exactly which activities we will do, what days we will do things on, and how we are going to make this the best vacation ever.
No, I am not telling you this story to make you long for a vacation, I’m telling you this story because as we were doing all of this planning, something occurred to me. We are not out of ordinary in this trip planning cycle. The majority of people go about trip planning this way, so that they can maximize the time they have. If we do all this planning for a short vacation – why is that we hardly spend any time at all planning our day to day life?
Let’s face it; the formula is very much the same. We pick a specific goal, we decide how we will know if we have accomplished it, we make sure it’s achievable for us to even do it, we see if we can realistically make it all happen in time, and we pick a date we want to have it done by. Basically, planning a vacation follows the SMART goal setting formula!
My question to you is this – if you would spend that much time planning a vacation and you already know how to use to goal setting formula – why not start your New Year by creating real goals for your life? Sure, vacation planning is seemingly a lot more fun and exciting, but I think sometimes we forget how good it feels to have goals in our life, and how great we feel when we actually achieve them.
I challenge you to take time in 2010 to look at your life the way it is now, envision what you want it to be like next year, and the year after, and make it happen! Decide what your goals will be – remember to make them very specific. Using the SMART technique – make sure they are specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and timely. Goal setting can be fun to do, if you look at your end result. When you plan a vacation you can envision that dream in your head – you see yourself skiing down a snowy slope, or sipping a drink on a sandy beach – you need to do the same thing when you are planning your life. If your goal is to buy a new house in a year, picture yourself sitting in the new house, maybe with a crackling fire in the fireplace. Create pictures in your mind of what the goals will look like when you get there, and that will help motivate you to make them happen.
Once you have the vision, break down those goals into the steps you need to take to get there. Just like when you’re planning a trip, go through each thing that you need to accomplish to make it happen, and assign dates for them to be done by.
Okay, let’s do a check. Your goals are envisioned. You have a plan of action to get them done. They are SMART goals. You are all set right? Not quite! We forgot one very important step. The one that causes us to forget our luggage at home, or not pack an item that we need . . . and the same thing applies to setting goals. Write it down. Put pen to paper and write it all out, just as you would if you were going away. Write down the goal, the date it will be done by, the steps you need to take to get there, and the date those steps need to be done by. Post everything up somewhere that you can easily see, and enjoy the success 2010 is sure to bring you.
