Start with the End in Mind

Most of us live our lives with the repeat button on. Wake up. Get dressed. Go to Work. Go Home. Sleep. Repeat. Most of us have this goal in mind – earn money, but the thing is, sometimes we don’t really think about the specific way of how we want to earn money and the specific amount of money that we want to earn. This sometimes results in not having a clear path to take to reach our goal. We can end up thinking that there are lots of ways to earn money, or we can end up thinking that there might be no way for us to earn money at all.

After I graduated from the university, all I wanted was to have a stable job, a job that would give me financial security. That time, I accepted the job with the highest offer. What I didn’t realize back then was that my goal should have been more specific. I shouldn’t have thought only about the salary that I wanted to receive, I should have also thought about the kind of job that I wanted to do to earn that salary. In the end, I left the company after just one year. After that, I self-reflected, I re-evaluated my goals and I made specific plans on how to achieve them. I gathered the skills that I needed and slowly but surely, I was able to move up to my self-created “financial goal ladder.” Everything was sailing smoothly but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. My goals had to be adjusted once again. My goals now include being safe and staying safe. I listed down the different paths that I can take to reach my financial goal and still stay safe from COVID-19. So, I started my freelancing career. I listed down all of the skills that I have and all the skills that I still need to be a successful freelancer. I created another path to reach my financial goal. But I needed a new “how” to reach my goal so that I won’t get lost, and so I self-studied. I attended webinars. I attended training sessions. I took project jobs as a way to test the waters, until finally… I found my “how.” I did pause briefly in climbing my financial goal ladder but I am now moving up again, and I know very soon, I will reach the top of this ladder, and the top of all the “goal ladders” that I have.

Our goals guide us in our daily life and goals that are specific, clear, and achievable make it somewhat easier for us to make our life plans.

Sometimes it’s not just about following your goals. Sometimes it’s about creating a path to reach them.