This is Day 12 of the 21-Day Journaling Challenge held in Nov 2011. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hi everyone – Welcome to Day 12 of 21DJC! :)
Yesterday’s question was: “Out of Your 5 Senses, Which is the Most Important to You, and Why?“. (Read the responses.)
The intention of yesterday’s question is to make us appreciate our 5 senses. Which is the most important sense to us? What would happen if we lose that sense? How would our experience of life change?
The reason why I asked yesterday’s question is because one of my teachers posed the question to the class when I was in primary school.
I remember feeling struck when I first heard the question. “What would happen if I were to lose one of my senses?“, I thought. I would be devastated, for sure. These 5 senses, which I had taken for granted, have been monumental in creating my life experience. Without any of them, I couldn’t imagine how life would be like.
There is no right or wrong answer – each answer depicts what is the most important sense to you. Interesting, your answer suggests whether you’re more of a visual person, an audio person, a sensorial person, a person who values smells, or a person who values taste.
Hopefully, from answering the question, you became aware of the importance of all your 5 senses, and the role they play in your life. From reading your answers, and how many of you expressed gratitude for the senses that you often take for granted, it would definitely seem that has been achieved.
For me, the most important sense to me… I would say it’s sight. I can’t imagine living a life of darkness. I’m a visual person – it’s what I notice at the beginning; it’s the first thing I remember about events and scenes.
That said, the sense of smell is important to me too, as is the sense of hearing, taste, or touch. It’s definitely a challenge having to pick one sense over another, so let’s make sure we never run into the situation where we have to do that, shall we? Let’s treasure our 5 senses and care for them duly.
Let’s protect our eyesight by only reading when the room is well lit, taking a quick break every once in a while when using the computer, and not forcing ourselves to wear contact lens when our eyes are tired (for contact lens users).
Let’s protect our hearing by not blasting our music at full volume and listening to it at a moderate level. Let’s also protect it by staying away from places with noise pollution, such as booming clubs, places with loud traffic, and so on.
Let’s care for our nose by not picking at it constantly, not sniffing at uninviting smells, not blowing it hard when we have the flu, and not stuffing things up our nostrils.
Let’s care for our skin by washing it regularly, not coming into contact with extreme temperatures (hot or cold), using mittens when removing items from the microwave/oven, using gloves when doing dish washing, wearing gloves and socks when we feel cold, and keep ourselves well covered during the winter times.
Let’s care for our taste buds by not taking spices we are not accustomed to, not smoking, not consuming food that has expired or gone bad, and not consuming food high in preservatives, because they may well desensitize our taste buds.
With that said, let’s now move to today’s question!
21DJC Day 12
Today’s question is sort of a precursor to our highly anticipated, upcoming Live a Better Life in 30 Days Challenge for Dec 2011. Today’s question is:
What Are Your Biggest Goals for the Next Few Years?
What do you envision achieving in the next few years? What do you most want to see happen? What are the goals and dreams you want to see unfold?
We will be working on our ideal life, our life goals, life map and vision board in detail during 30DLBL next month, so take this as a preliminary outlet to think over your goals in the next few years.
(Today’s question can be found in #28 of 101 Important Questions To Ask Yourself In Life.)
Your Task Today:
- Reflect and answer today’s question. There’s no word limit – whether minimum or maximum. Write as few or as many words as you want. It’s all up to what you want to express!
- Share your answer. After you are done writing, copy and paste your answer in the comments area and post it there.
- Check out other participants’ answers. Other participants will be sharing their answers too, so feel free to read and reply to their answers. This is a group course, so let’s support each other in these 21 days.
((Images: Empty book for journaling, Back view of two girls in the field))
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This at the moment is a fairly difficult question for me, I’m at a point where I keep questioning my decisions and continually look at the options that are possible in respect to studying and working.
So I know this answer is fairly run-of-the-mill, but in the next few years, I want to set a more ‘concrete’ direction for my life, choose exactly what career pathway I wish to take for the foreseeable future, I wish to have started my studying/training for what ever pathway I have chosen. I would also like to explore the opportunities that are presented to me in my current job.
I wish to have embraced any relationships that may happen, and while I don’t set timeline on my personal affairs (dating, marriage, children etc), I would like to think that I’ll make the most of my relationships.
I would like to have discovered more about myself and be happy with who I am, and from that, be more in tune to the other people around me.
This sounds really like me. :)) Are you at the age of 25 and up?
Fortunately, at 30 years of age, I am now in a position where I know exactly where I want to go and be over the next few years.
The main goal both my fiance and I share is to conceive our first child. We have already been trying for 18 months, and on Wednesday, after already having had a few tests (mine less favourable than the other half’s), we have our first meeting at the fertility clinic. The next twelve months could well be challenging for us, but I do believe that with a positive attitude and believing in the best we will get what we want.
Beyond that, I want to make a huge step from our current house which is at the bottom of the market, up to my (our?) dream home. My better half would rather take a middle step before then, possibly, but I would rather make just one move.
In order to facilitate the above two, my aim is to save as much money as possible over the next 5 years – fortunately I am in a well paid job which will allow me to do this. First I must repay odd bits of outstanding debt (1 year max). Then I’ll have four years of serious saving – not too serious though, I’ll still enjoy my money as we only live once and who knows what will happen tomorrow!? But the surplus funds will be put to one side for a house move one day, but also to pay for private fertility treatment if it is required (but NHS should cover it for where we live).
Looking forward to the journey :-)
My very biggest goal for the next few years is to finish my two-year associate degree. Completing this degree is important to me not only to help with employment, but to reach that milestone after having dropped out of school for a year and a half. I only have two more semesters to go, so I hope to graduate sometime next year.
Another goal I have for next year is to start riding my younger horse Iris. Iris, the foal of my other horse Belle, is going to be 4 next year, and since I’ve had Belle since she was 2 months pregnant, I’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time! Iris is going to be very happy too, because she always wants to go on rides with the other horses, and now she’ll finally be able to.
Besides those two goals, I have some other goals that are not clearly defined yet. After I graduate I hope to find some sort of employment, but I’m not sure whether I would want to work for someone else or start my own business. I’m waiting to progress with my schooling before I narrow that path down more. I’m also hoping to build a house on my families land someday and move out to the country, but that is more of a long term goal.
Celes is there going to be a public run for 30DLBL? I would be so excited if it does! I did the first one, half-heartedly, but even that way it was useful. I would be trilled to commit to the next one!
Okay…goals,goals,goals. It’s got to be the most mentioned word in personal development world. And writing them down the is the first and most emphasized advice. Ironically enough, I don’t have them written down :(
I was wishing for a task like this to appear,but I thought it was too general, too known of and that it wouldn’t be appearing. Glad it did.
My goals for the next three years:
1. get good grades. Very good grades. Above 8.5 GPA (10 is max). So I am good enough for scholarships and good enough to be accepted if I want to get a PhD education
2. not only lose 30lbs, but be FIT. I want to complete Insanity training program. I want to run in a half marathon. I want to be able to do a split and I wan’t push ups to be a breeze. That is the only way I have a chance to get into personal trainer career, and the health industry in general. And that is my dream. A big dream that I’ve never confessed to anybody. I think I would be made fun of, because I myself was never a big athletic person. And I’ve been overweight for the last 3-4 years. But I’m 19 and I think I still have a shot, if I work hard enough for it.
3. grow. In every sense. Learn new and improve existing skills. Have more self confidence. Learn another foreign language. Meet myself better. Learn. Become a better person in every way I can.
4. have a more exciting social and love life. During high school I had low self confidence, not enough self-appreciation, I was 50lbs overweight at one time, and all that made me isolate myself from the crowd. I just started University and I’m hungry to have fun with people, go out, make new friends, have new relationships.
5: And last if I can (financialy) – travel. I’m from Europe. And Europe is beautiful, there is so much to see! I want to see Amsterdam, Portugal, Spain again, the UK, northern countries, Switzerland….everything!
Of course, the rest of the world is beautiful too, but Europe is most accessible now, and cheapest for me. The world will have to wait until I get my paycheck!
So those are not some grand, super-ambitious goals. But I’m young and I want to enjoy it while still setting the stage for later, by growing and education :) And of course fueling my batteries with great experiences! :)
You can do it! I did my first half marathon this year and Shaun T’s Insanity program as well (got 6 weeks through, didn’t finish it unfortunately). It’s tough, but it’s so worth it! Good luck :)
Hi Ivona! All 30DLBLs are for members only (i.e. those who bought the 30DLBL program).
It’s a definite must-have for all Personal Excellence readers if you ask me, plus it’s an invaluable investment since getting the program gives life-time access to all 30DLBL runs. Beats all the personal development courses out there that cost hundreds to thousands of dollars but can only deliver a fraction of what 30DLBL gives. Hope that helps!
I’ll also be thrilled about a public one but I know what you mean. Looks like I have to wait for my own credit card then. :p
Anyway, Ivona – I love your 3rd goal the most – grow. ‘In every sense.’ make it even more challenging, although it has much more value now.
Good luck (on your goals and your dream)! :clap: I’m sure you’ll achieve it. :D
For anyone who still have questions about 30DLBL and plans for public runs, there are no plans for any public runs for 30DLBL in the long-term cause it wouldn’t be fair to the members who purchased the program prior to that. Secondly, the guidebook/workbook, online resources and time taken to run the course comes with a cost (all other challenges at PE have been run free all this while). The revenue from 30DLBL sales, even if it’s priced ridiculously low, allows me to continue my work at PE.
With the books, resources, and support that come with the purchase, it’s really a miniscule investment. So if there’s anyone hesitating to get the program, hope this helps with your decision somewhat. Thank you!
Shayla, Amanda tnx! :)
Celes,I understand. Thanks for replying :)
As a senior in college, I am at a point in my life where there are many new goals and opportunities. In the next few years, I want to be financially independent, and to have a job that I love teaching math. I do not know where I want to live, or what grade I would like to teach, but I know that I want to be a “real person” as we say in college.
I would also like to be married, or at least have fallen in love in the next few years. This is a much more difficult goal because there is so much chance and circumstance involved.
I also want to place in the top three in a swing dance contest. I have been dancing for 3 years, and have still not competed, but that is mostly because I’m too scared. I hope to eventually be a good enough dancer to really do well in a competition.
All of this could very well change though, as this is a major period of transition in anyone’s life.
Embark on a spiritual journey.
Run my 1st marathon.
Achieve financial freedom.
Learn to play the electronic keyboard.
Study hard, get good grades, hopefully sort out some private personal life matters, go to college (then transfer to an university). Do well in that, get a stable job that I have interest in, and enjoy life to the max. Oh, and I guess finding a partner wouldn’t be bad either ;)
I have been looking at a few universities here and there, but the problem is I have such a broad range of subjects that interests me, from fashion to interior design, singing to cooking. Hopefully I can major in something that I can stick to for the rest of my life. If not, I’ll just take classes and keep learning even when I’m an old lady.
1. Take up a counselling course. I have some life experiences that I can bring to the table. There’s a shortage of counselors in my ethnic group in Singapore and I wish to contribute my services to the people. In school here where I work, I see many kids who are “lost,” and they are increasing in numbers yearly. Perhaps, this is a niche I can go into.
2. Write better, more interesting, articles for my blog. There are numerous possibilities. As I am still new at this (just started middle of this year) I am still trying to find my niche. I want to share something inspiring, that will make people think and, perhaps, if they can learn something from what I wrote, it would be awesome. :dance:
3. Write a book. This sounds big, no, huge! But, I know that this is what I would want to eventually do. I will not ask why, what, when, where or how — I just know that it will happen and every time I write on my blog, it is a practice towards improving my writing to reach this goal. There are many platforms in the blogosphere for aspiring writers such as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which organizes novel writing challenges in November annually, RedWritingHood or Magpie Tales which has link-ups for writing prompts weekly, etc. These are the few that I know of currently. I am sure there are many more and they will all come to me as my dream becomes too loud for me to ignore. In the short term, I intend to enter the NaNoWriMo challenge In November 2012.
4. Make a pilgrimage to Mecca. This is a religious pilgrimage according to my faith and I have in fact booked a place for 2014. Provided my health is good, enough money can be saved (at least SIN$10,000) and everything else in my personal life goes smoothly, I will be there in 2014.
Thank you I was just looking today for websites with writing challenges :)
Hey Cloudio,
Since you are interested in the writing challenges, here are the websites:
NaNoWriMo
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/sign_in
Red Writing Hood
http://writeonedge.com/
Magpie Tales
http://magpietales.blogspot.com/
The last two gives weekly prompts on what to write. You can subscribe to their RSS feed and then write on the prompts given and link up to the websites on the day they specified. It’s a great platform to get to know other writers as well.
Happy writing!
Thank you!
;)
Don’t really have any big goals. I’d like to have a grandchild, but I guess I don’t really have any control of that. I’d like to get a plan in place for retirement. I’d like to have a sense of financial security in our retirement years. I’d like to see my children settled and happy (again not really in my control). I’d like to get solar water heating (already have solar electricity). Lose 25 lbs would be good. That’s something I think I can do.
Number one goal is to stay healthy. I will do this by conscious healthy choices. I will eat fresh, mostly raw foods. I will exercise regularly. I will avoid known carcinogens. I will exercise safe practices.
Number two goal is to work on relationships. I will continue to work on my relationship with my husband of 41 years. As we both grow and change, we are always learning better ways to accept each other. As my children and their partners grow and change, we all strive to improve the ways that we relate to each other.
Number three goal is to work on improving my world and leaving it a better place than when I arrived on the scene in 1949.
First of all mu biggest goal in life and i will achieve it in next few years, is to write and publish a book that will help others grow and go through some rough patches. So i am working on that and i will do everything to achieve that goal as soon as possible but also to be the quality that i want. And i hope to start motivational speaking in my and other countries.
I have a goal to go on a spiritual and growth journey where i will travel in to deep layers of myself.
Second i would like to go into couching and motivation. So i can help others grow and grow along side them. I want to attend coaching, EFT, NLP and other inspirational seminars that will give me teachings that will help me grow and help others grow.
My goal is also to finish my last year of Public Relations University and get some work and practice in that area. I also want to get a job that will fulfill me, inspire and support my lifestyle financially.
I have a goal to travel a lot in next few years and to visit as many .different countries and cultures as possible. I would set as goal to visit Rome,Milan,Venice and Florence in Italy. I would try out diverse cuisines learn new growth techniques of different people.
My goal also is to settle with my ideal partner whether it is my current partner of someone new, i would like to have someone to share my experiences for life.
I will learn to cook some new and excited dishes.
I will improve my physical endurance and shape to the maximum of health and vitality.
And i will spend quality time with my family and friends.
Those are biggest goals but i have many more that i will do everything to complete in few years to come.
Thank you for this question. Thoughts about this have been rolling in my mind for the past few days. I would like to break the goals in to
1- Spiritual
2- Relational
3-Intellectual
4-Physical
5-Financial
6- Creative side
All of these are super important and must be handled with care.
1- Spiritual
-I want to
Become spiritually sound and continually grow
Become a helper in this, along with a helped
Read the entire bible, and get some depth in understanding
Become/Remain faithful
Get depth in character and a tranquility in soul
2-Relational
-I want to
Have a solid relationship with God…thats gonna be tough
Be the kind of friend i aspire to be
Find someone i can love and care for…someone special…and then love and care for her
Learn to love properly
Remove the negative energy sucking relationships from my life
3- Intellectual
-I want to
Gain in heavenly and worldy wisdom
Learn another language
Develop professionally.
Learn skills to actually benifit the world…and then do it
4- Physical
I want to
Donate a kidney
Loose some weight
Gain fitness
Run a marathon
5- Financial
I want to
Be financially bolder and more carefree
Make intelligent decisions
Get more of a comfort cushion, to be able to just leave this rat race
6- Creative side
Learn how to play an instrument
Work on my poetry skills. And actually have the confidence to demonstate it to the world
My biggest goal is to move to the Maritimes with my husband, & enjoy our retirement while we are both still young enough and in good enough health to enjoy it.
This will mean tightening our belts now, paying off all our debts and watching that we spend money on the ‘needs’ more than the ‘wants’.
Along with that move, more travelling is another big goal, both in Canada and back to Europe.
In order of importance, the following are my biggest goals for the next 5 to 10 years:
1) Increase the mutual love and respect with my family and friends
2) Become a father and keep a supporting relation, no matter what, with the mother of my baby. Donate my sperm
3) Improve my physical and psychical shape
4) Have a steady source of income from a business, socially useful and fun for me
5) Publish a book which is read and appreciated by at least 1000 people
6) Visit at least 100 countries (I’m actually around 50)
7) Become fluent in Japanese and in another language
To have my son testing 2+ grades ahead in all areas of school (through my help and hiring of tutors if need be). I’m quantifying this, but I’ll be happy giving him any meaningful advantage at his age.
To be working fully for myself, and on track to be working solely because I want to in 5-7 years.
To have identified the next major pursuit in my life (physics, charity, neuroscience, religion or philosophy, etc.)
To add 5+ high-impact friends to my live capable of providing “positive” peer pressure and interaction in the key areas of my life (business, intellect, philosophy, parenting, body/health, overall mastery etc.)
To have either launched and delivered the non-profit I’m contemplating now, or to have made what I deep a similar contribution in an existing entity. [This one is squishy, I know.]
To be regularly attending church with my wife and son, as a family.
Coincidentally, i just wrote down my short and long term goals last week, after reading an interesting book just bluntly tells people to stop thinking and start acting… so here are my goal for the next 3 years…
1. Get a job in Intel- I am starting my masters in electrical engg this spring, so I’d like to aim for the best. Hopefully, this lofty ambition will also keep me focused on my studies and help me get good grades.
2. Start a family. Unlike many others, i don’t think family and career are mutually exclusive. Although maintaining a healthy balance is very important.
3. Learn to speak, read and write Bengali and Telugu. I have a limited speaking knowledge of both, thanks to my huge friend circle, but my husband’s family speak these two fluently. Also to brush up the German i learnt at work. I want to add to my list of languages- English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada.
4. Revive my daily singing. I learnt classical music for 5 years, and I regret letting my busy schedule take me away from regular “riyaaz” (practice).
I am a flexible person and do tweak my goals with changing circumstances. However, 3 years is a reasonable time, so I feel it should be enough to manage these 4 goals.
My biggest goals for the next few years.
This may sound strange, but I don’t actually have any goals for the next few years. I used to, but they would change so rapidly that I couldn’t keep up with them. If I were to actually write a list of goals right now, it would be a completely different list from what my goals would have been just a week ago. Plus, most times in the past when I have had actual goals to work towards, I would lose interest after a while and the work would then become a chore. Another thing I found was that the more goals I had, the less chance I would have of achieving any of them.
Looking back over my past, I’ve always been like this too. And at times, I ended up wasting a lot of money buying whatever I needed to achieve a particular goal, but later lost interest in that goal because I just didn’t enjoy the work that was involved or found it too complex. For me the process and work involved in achieving any goal (if any), is just as important as the end result. For example, if I set myself the goal of cooking a complex three course meal with multiple dishes for dinner every night of the week. In total, we may only spend around 30 minutes or so eating all the food, but if that goal also required 90 minutes of chopping vegetables, preparing the ingredients, making the meals, heating them up if required, cleaning all the pots, pans, cutlery, dishes, plates and bench tops, as well as sweeping the floor, would that still be a goal worth achieving if I didn’t also enjoy all those other tasks? Most probably not. But just throwing together a quick salad or a stir fry wouldn’t be so bad, and there wouldn’t be as much to clean afterwards.
A year ago I set myself a goal of creating an experimental feature length film. I started shooting footage of friends to appear in it, and I planned out the required steps in order to get it done. But during the time I was shooting that footage of friends and a few other people, it became quite a chore. I was driving all over the city trying to schedule people in, and then somehow I just lost interest in having all these people appear in the movie and decided that whatever I do, I just want to do on my own without relying on others to be involved. I’m now looking at using that footage I’ve already shot for something else, so it won’t go to waste. And the movie itself? I don’t know, I’m just going to go with the flow, see what inspires me to continue working on it, and go with that.
To be honest, I actually like Leo Babauta’s ‘No goals’ approach. I remember reading a few articles he wrote about that earlier this year, and every reason he listed for not having any goals I could relate to completely. It all made perfect sense. A good example of the no goals approach he recommends would be what my wife’s doing at the moment (and she’s never read those articles by the way). A few months ago she began painting pictures on her iPad of characters from her novel, just for a bit of fun. Becoming an artist has never been her goal and still isn’t. But she has a friend who’s an illustrator and likes her work, saw what I was doing on my iPad, and just decided to try a bit of digital painting herself. A few months later she’s still going and her artwork has improved immensely. Currently she’s working on a second novel and creating the artwork for that too. And that’s what I really like, just doing something for the fun of it and seeing where it takes you. As opposed to having a fixed goal for example, with preplanned action steps you need to stick to in order to achieve the goal within a certain time. Something that has never worked for me.
In conclusion, my goals for the next few years? I still can’t give provide an answer! Of course there’s a lot I would like to do, but I’m just going to go with whatever I find to be the most enjoyable and rewarding. Like always starting fresh with a blank canvas where anything is possible. I realise doing things this way won’t work for everyone, but for me, I truly feel this is the best way forward right now.
It is interesting to read your goal. Leny
Thanks Leny!
Oh, and just to clarify, since what I wrote kind of goes against Celes’ teachings. I’m definitely not criticising goal setting. I have a lot of respect for anyone who is able to set a goal and take the required steps to achieve that goal.
Another example of what I’m talking about here though would be my music video business. This was never a goal at all, but just something I enjoyed doing that I became good enough at for people to start hiring me.
Glen,
Maybe instead of thinking about “Goals” think “Projects” or “Outcomes”.
For example, make a 10 minute film about XXXX is more concrete than
“Become a documentary film-maker” and is something that can be completed.
I used to set crazy goals as if they were meant to motivate me. Instead I felt overwhelmed when i realised hwo big they were, and usually not worth the effort. Now I get more satisfaction at being able to play one piano piece well, or to enjoy watching a great film 3 times instead of ticking off a list of 100 great filmes seen.
You sound a lot like me and need short term activities that keep you engaged and inspired.
By the way, how did you go with your big room cleanout and selling your stuff on e-Bay ?
Hi Charles,
Yes, projects would be a better term to use.
I also agree with you about setting big crazy goals. Like making millions of dollars for example. It’s definitely possible, but if that required outsourcing a lot of the work, hiring people who can be trusted or just spending most of my time doing the bulk of the work myself, I don’t know if I’d enjoy that? If it meant working non stop 12 hours a day doing work I didn’t enjoy to make enough money to retire in 3 years tme, I don’t even think that would be worth it. I could die in that time, and the work would have been for nothing.
The part you mentioned about becoming a documentary film maker, or setting a goal of becoming a successful film maker. I agree that’s not the way to go either, and that it’s better just to continue making movies and improve upon each. I’ve met a music people over the years who had goals of becoming successful recording artists. Of course it never happened. Instead of focusing on becoming successful, they should have put more effort into their music and experimented with what they were to already doing, and being original rather than mimicking what other successful artists were doing.
Thanks for asking about selling my junk on eBay. I just have a two or three more videos to finish, and then I’ll be devoting most of my time to that. I’ve already photographed quite a few item. In fact, I might even post up a few tomorrow night, as Sunday nights are the best time to list, or should I say for an auction to end.
How is your Turramurra park video coming along?
Hi Glen,
One of my goals is to contribute and help people reach their goals. On the last challenge BBM your wife Lydia couldn’t find a publisher for her book. I have found a great web site called book catcher.com, on this website they have a free ebook which tells you
– how to self publish which costs around 40US dollars
– get a ISBN number for your book
– how to get listed on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
– lists a website where you can get a physical copy of your book for a few dollars or do a major print run of 10,000 copies or more.
I would be interested to learn what program Lydia is using to draw on her iPad.
Good luck with the sale of your items, Gumtree is an excellent website for that in the UK, I don’t know if you have that it Australia as it is much simpler.
All the best.
Bob
Many thanks for the comment Bob, your goal is very admirable.
I’ll pass this information onto Lydia. Thanks for letting us know about that. I’m hoping she does self publish, as I’ve read a few articles about the difficulties of going through a publisher. There was an article I read the other day where the guy had made more money from one self published book than he’d made from his previous 5 published books. Not that money is the most important factor, but he also mentioned that when going through a publisher, it may be another 2 or 3 years before the book is actually released. Lack of creative control over the cover artwork is another concern.
The program we use to paint with on the iPad is Procreate. Personally, I’ve found it to be more responsive than other painting apps. The developers are here in Australia too, so it’s nice to think we’re helping the local economy with that $4 purchase :)
And yes, we have Gum Tree here also. I might use that for a few of the larger items, such as furniture.
Biggest Goals for the Next Few Years
Based on Life Wheel Components:
Family
– mantaining strong communication and connection with my family as we are not staying in the same country. I will visit them at least twice a year and go on their travelling trips together with them every year.
Relationship
– Strengthen my romantic relationship with trust, laughters and sharing of all our ups and downs, making the effort to understand each other’s situation and giving in to each other, supporting and encouraging one another. Grow together and complement each other
– Enhance work relationships with colleagues to promote healthy work environment to ensure cooperation and positive competition as well as helping each other out, even thougt things might not be what i want but i can make the best of these situations and learn to better myself.
– Build up existing friendships and make more friends in my social circle, get out there and get to know more people, build connections and learn from people.
Health
– Maintain my daily jogging regime, adding swimming to some days.. looking into circuit training / toning..
– Practice yoga for flexibility
– Eat greens and fruits, cut out caffeine as well as flour, sugar and salt
Wealth
– Financially independent with reserves for comfortable living
– Move away from luxury and be contented with what I have
– Buy a house
Career
– Climbing up the ladder and managing projects with expertice, experience and excellence.
– Taking up courses to ensure continual improvement and knowledge addition.
– Making my passion paycheck on the side
Personal Development
– Confident, assertive
– Understanding, compassionate
– Loyal, dependent, reliable.
– Take things easy
– Passionate to my passion and living each day to my fullest ability
Spirituality
– Practice Vipassana meditation, go on a retreat
– Learn about my religion
Hobby / Interests
– Go for Piano Exam
– Explore the world, travelling to China, Europe, Korea, Japan
– Learn more things. Take up challenges
Contribution
– Set up a charity organisation helping children
– Volunteer for a good cause.
Viole, good luck on your goals! The one that most resonate with me is going for your piano exam. May I ask if you are taking ABRSM? And if so, what grade? I would love to know more. :D
(I’m currently doing ABRSM Piano Grade 6)
BTW, thanks for reminding me about the life wheel. I also used it to determine my biggest goals for my answer.
Hi Viole,
I just finished commenting on Amanda’s post and saw yours. Both of your goal listing and classification looks similar. Is it some kind of common method that I am not aware of?
Hope you achieve all of the goals listed. All the best & have a nice day!!
Sorry for my ignorance. :shy: I just read Amanda’s comment above and realized its something related to life wheel. I did a search on google about it and landed on celes’s blog post on it. It looks interesting. I am going to read it now.
Thanks for sharing! Have a great day Amanda & Viole!
Based on the life wheel categories that apply to me (finance/wealth and romance/love don’t YET) I will choose 5 biggest goals later.
Studies
– 2012: Get at least 70 for Chinese (overall)
– 2012: Get at least 420/500 overall for all subjects
– 2012: Complete my ISO with good and satisfying results :D
– 2013: Get at least 70 for Chinese (overall)
– 2013: Get good results for my PSLE and get into my dream school
Health/Fitness
– 2012: Put on at least 5kg by the end of the year (I currently weigh 31kg)
– Continue swimming for at least 5 times/week.
– Drink more water (at least 10 cups)
– Eat my vitamins twice daily :p
– Eat more variety of vegetables
Social/Friends
– Keep in touch with my old school friends, and my this year friends who are not in the same class with me next year
– Have at least 5 new friends throughout every year.
Family
– Be more courageous and ask my parents for whatever I think is necessary for me
Recreation
– 2013: Complete ABRSM Piano Grade 6 (practical)
Contribution
– 2012: Clock at least 6h of CIP (Community Involvement Programme)
Personal Growth
– 2011: Complete DHRC (read more about DHRC on my blog)
– 2011: Complete 30DLBL
– Continue my GLB blog
Spiritual
– Meditate for at least 10 minutes everyday
Self-image
– Love myself at least 11/10 :D
– Appreciate my strengths and accept my weaknesses
5 BIGGEST GOALS
– 2013: Get good results for my PSLE and get into my dream school (Studies category)
– Continue swimming for at least 5 times/week. (Health/fitness category)
– Continue my GLB blog (Pesronal Growth category)
– 2013: Complete ABRSM Piano Grade 6 (practical) (Recreation category)
– Continue my GLB blog
Hi Amanda,
I like the way you have classified and listed your goals. It looks so well planned. Hope you achieve all of your goals. All the best!!
Amanda,
You must be a good piano player if you are studying ABRSM Piano Grade 6 (practical).
Can you tell me what piano pieces you are playing? I am an adult learner and I wanted to play the piano after supporting my daughters in their piano, viola and cello lessons.
Keep up the great work with all your activities and make sure you have FUN as well.
Greetings from Australia,
Charles
Thanks! So far I’ve only decided on my A piece. It’s A3. And I definitely love playing the piano :) and even more so since I have nothing much to do during the hols. :dance:
My Biggest goal in the next year is to archive my professional in my career and continue up to grow in my personal growth. I want to success in my career and go up in my ladder of my career. One is the most important thing in my next year is graduation ceremony for myself.
I will work hard to archive this professional career goal. Leny
Celes, could you please tell me more about 30DLBL. I was thinking to buy the ebook, but before that I would like to know when exactly are you planning to run it? Actually in December, I might be traveling and be little busy for few days, so I was wondering when would be the next run after December?
My biggest goals for next few years are:
Become a better person.
Be healthy physically and mentally.
Start my own business. I have not yet decided what it is going to be. I’ll think and plan it after finishing my college.
Get married and settle down. :love: Hahaha…yes, that’s one of my biggest goals too.
Go on a world tour.
Hi Iva, it’ll be ran for the whole month of December – it’s a 30 day course. It’s usually ran 1-2 times a year, so after Dec, it’ll probably be ran in Jun ’12 next, as a mid-year review.
But you don’t need to wait till the public runs to do it though. That’s what the guidebook and workbook is for – it’s a DIY kit where you can do the course in your own time, whenever you want, at your own pace. The public runs are more like a special bonus for those who buy the 30DLBL, as a way for everyone to get together and work on the tasks together.
Hi Celes,
I’ll try to catch up in December itself. I get more motivated and committed when there are other people involved. Its not that I can’t do it alone or anything, but it would take more time for me to finish it on my own because I might give priority to other things. If for some reason I couldn’t join in December, I’ll do it alone in Jan or Feb.
Thank you Celes :hug:
Have a great day!!
I have been focusing on my five year goals since the spring, and have achieved quite a bit since that time. I still have a long way to go, but here are my five year goals at the moment:
1. Pay off the debt. When I started earlier this year, I had credit card debt and car loans. I am happy to say the credit card debt is GONE, and we are now focusing on saving and paying off the cars.
2. Move closer to family. We’re in a different city right now, and it would be better if we moved.
3. Become a manager for my company in the new city, or find a new career. I’m working on our resumes right now actually.
4. Buy a house. Once the cars are paid off, we will start saving for a down-payment.
5. Start a family. Just one is all I would like.
6. Focus on my art career. I was doing really well with my art during the summer but now that the busy season has hit at work, everything has once again come to a standstill. On that note…
7. Become more organized and use my time efficiently so I can get more done.
8. Be more active. Exercise regularly, learn to make healthy meals, and take care of myself.
9. Learn to use my dSLR camera professionally, and buy the equipment (flash, etc.) to get the best photos indoors. I work as a photographer but everything is already set up, so I really want to learn how to do this myself. I would like to take a class in photography lighting so I can really understand how it all works.
Right now it’s hard to think of the next few years when the next few months are so important. We have set the goal for our family to be in a larger house by this time next year…with no mortgage payments. So the next few months in my business are crucial because putting the time in now will pay us back for years to come. This is very doable. But doing this without sacrificing precious time with my kids.
I AM a person of action! I will build my business successfully!
We’ve talked about things after the house, like being able to say, “Hey, let’s go for a drive tomorrow.” And just go and end up wherever we end up. We try everyday to improve our relationship with our kids, so I wouldn’t say that is a goal, just something we continue to do on a daily basis. Our relationship is great but again, I wouldn’t call it a goal.
For too long, fear has outweighted my desire to make things better for my family. Never again! I do not fear failure. Failure exists only for the person who quits.
I do not quit! I am courageous. I am a person of action!
Eish! as we say in South Africa! This is a very difficult one for me. I’ve been going through the motions in a big way as I have responsibilities to fulfill towards my family and therefore it leaves very little time for anything else, much less thinking about goals. I’ve even neglected my emotional and spiritual life in a big way.
I’ve realised that I should start in small ways. I’m in the process of sorting out all the junk, notes and other things I’ve hoarded over the years. Have already made headway in that I’ve donated a whole boot of stuff to Hospice, which felt great. We’ll never be minimalist, but I striving toward having MUCH less. We’re living in a very small house now, which helps as there’s not much space.
Although I’m already 40 I’ve decided to start a belly dancing course next year.This is something I’ve always wanted to do, but it’s always been too expensive, too out of the way, etc. Now, it’s close to work, my hubby said yes and it’s cheap! Yaehhh!
I’ve booked and paid my flight tickets for doing a Vipassana course in a month and a bit’s time. I’m very excited about this and am looking forward to the quiet. I’ve been longing for a quiet retreat for years!
My son (7 years old) has elected to do Zulu as a First Language and neither my husband or myself can speak the language. This is a huge challenge. I’m hoping to get some CDs from work and start learning the language. Well, my husband and myself. I’ve always wanted to learn the language, but found that the best way to learn a new language is by having friends and interacting with them in that language. This is how I got proficient in speaking English.
Some of the goals that are still a bit fuzzy for me are the following:
1. determine what I was born to do
2. determine what I should be doing to get to my life goal
3. work on my spiritual journey
4. get proficient in EFT tapping
5. teach the EFT tapping technique to my children
How could I forget!!!
1. I want to start eating a healthier diet with more fresh fruit and veg
2. I want our family to start a food combining diet where carbs and proteins are not mixed during meals. It’s helped many people with allergies and our family suffers quite a bit from allergies.
3. Exercise must become a part of my life. I’m starting belly dancing, but want to do flexibility training as well.
I am at a point in life, 55, where changes are coming whether I want them to or not. My goals for the next few years are:
1. To continue to develop and grow my online business.
2. To move to Portugal and find a small farm or villa there.
3. To join a fitness program in my new home. I love to workout with a group.
4. To travel throughout Europe.
5. To continue to perfect my Portuguese and Spanish.
6. To become successful enough to be able to help the younger generation of our family
with education and expenses as they get started in their adult lives.
1) Do well in optometry school and land a residency at a top school/hospital
2) Establish an exercise routine that is doable daily no matter how busy I get and one day participate in a tough marathon such as Tough Mudders
3) Establish a daily meditation routine
4) Eat more nutritious food and be able to cook foods nutritiously
5) Learn a new skill or language (looking to learn Hindi)
6) Gain more self confidence and self esteem, Speak in public without any fears
7) Become a better person (i.e. a better friend to my best friends, better daughter to my parents, etc–without asking for anything in return)
7) Grow in every way possible–physically, mentally, emotionally
Woops I wrote #7 twice, the last one is #8!
My biggest goal for the next few years is to learn to stop taking life for granted. To quit procrastinating and do the things that need to be done to put my life in order so I can quit worrying so much and enjoy life and the people in it. My dad died unexpectedly almost 8 years ago at a young age, only 65. When that happened I promised myself that I would stop taking life for granted, that I would slow down, take time to do the things that I enjoy doing, spend time with the people that I love and show them that I care. Here I am all these years later and I realize that I never did do any of those things. I still take for granted that those around me will be here tomorrow and that I don’t need to tell people how I feel about them and that I will always have tomorrow to do the things I don’t feel like dealing with today. It robs me of joy and happiness. It is time to grow up and take responsibility for my life and put it in order and make the time to enjoy life and enjoy the ones that I love.
Family and Friends
To improve my relationships with my kids and have them stronger than ever. To develope my friends into a close knit group.
Spirituality
To know my God and become intimate with Him and offer others help so I remain humble.
Health
Become a healthy eater and exercise in order to increase by health and strength. Be the best person I can and improve in any positive way possible
Career
Successfully support myself and offer support to those of my family. Id like to write a book or series of books.
What Are Your Biggest Goals for the Next Few Years?
1. Be Present
2. Be Self-reliant
3. Find a job/career I love.
Sorry, my mistake. The first one should have been “Raise my consciousness”. I am very sorry about that :(
My goals for the next 3 years.
I don’t want to plan too far ahead as my interests change and I like
to go with the flow of my interests. To me, “a few” means about 2
or 3.
I turn 54 next month. I don’t feel that age and still think and act
like I did when I was in my 30’s. People my age are thinkin of
retiring and winding back their activities, but I am constantly
exploring life and like to give back to others in the form of
teaching, mentoring, coaching and being a good friend.
Now that my daughters have finished school and studying at university
I am pursuing some activities for myseld as well as planning
activities for my wife and I.
My goals for the next few years are:
JOB. Find a job (means of earning money) which is worthwhile,
beneficial to others as well as challenging and enriching. Continue to
adapt current job for maximum satisfaction.
PIANO. Continue to learn and play the piano, building up a repertoire
of pieces I enjoy playing – Beethoven, J S Bach, Chopin, Khachaturian,
Shostakovich.
VOICE AND ACTING. I am a good speech writer and presenter but I need
to develop my voice further and add more drama and impact to my
presentations. Continue to develop my voice, make podcasts and
readings.
ELECTRONIC MUSIC. Produce arrangements of various musical works using
sofware synthesisers.
WEIGHT. Lose weight to reach my desired target weight. I still need to
lose around 6 kg.
TRAVEL. Overseas travel, especially Vietnam, south island of New
Zealand, and some Pacific islands.
READING. Read inspiring books and the great classics.
FILM. Continue to watch the great classics of film.
FILM MAKING. Experiment with short film making, and distribute my
short film experiments on the web.
I love your commitment to excellence at your age, Charles. You’re a definite role model to everyone out there!
Thanks Celes.
Sometimes I think it is a curse getting interested in new things all the time. As well as focusing on things I enjoy I am also spending time getting rid of things I am no longer
interested in. I have been doing a lot of reorganising and throwing stuff out at home.
One of my “giving back to the community” is being on the committee of a local youth orchestra. Both my daughters play in this group and I spend time each Thursday at rehearsals and in my own time preparing music and program for upcoming concert. Many parents take all this stuff for granted but I enjoy helping others and it gives me more common ground with my daughters.
My biggest frustration is knowing that I won’t be able to achieve all these goals and I have regrets that I gave up piano when I was 11 years old. If only I had kept going. All I can do now is to do things TODAY and not put off until later.
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