Goal Setting

When setting goals for ourselves, it is absolutely essential that they are realistic. It is possible to achieve any goal no matter how big it seems. The key is to break it down into realistic doable portions. About 6 months ago, I set a goal that I viewed as impossible. But when I broke it down, I saw that it was very possible. The technique that I used was a mind map. The goal that I set for myself was responsibility. I spent many years completely dependent on my parents because of my many mental and physical challenges. My mother did all of my laundry, paid for my car insurance, and my gasoline. She cooked for me and even cleaned my room. When I finally decided that I was going to become responsible, it encompassed such a wide spectrum of things. I didn't even have a checking account much less a credit card. In the middle of my piece of paper, I wrote the word responsibility and drew a circle around it. Then I branched it out into 5 categories: self-care, finances, personal relationships, career and education, and spiritual growth. This was the beginning of my action plan. I'm going to use my finances as an example. I came up with a list of every action that I needed to take in order to change my financial situation. My list is as follows: Finances: Establish checking account Establish savings account take over gasoline bill take over car insurance payments Learn to balance checkbook Get a small secured credit card put $10 per week into savings Retain attorney for bankruptcy File for bankruptcy Save $5,000 for downpayment for new car Save $3,000 for furniture for apartment Save $2,000 for moving expenses/deposits Get apartment When I accomplished something on my checklist, I would check it off. Each time that i checked off something, I felt a sense of empowerment. Now there were a few things, sepcifically in the self-care category where consistency was the key. In those things, I kept a daily log. When I had done them everyday for 21 days, I would check it off. It is proven that it takes 21 days to change a habit. One of the most important things that helped me as I tackled this huge goal was support and accountability. I picked people that I trusted to be my support buddies. I made them aware of the goals that I had set for myself. I checked in with them regularly, sometimes even on a daily basis. I let them know what I had and had not accomplished for that day. Ultimately what happened is I started to hold myself accountable. I continued to have support, but I no longer needed to be accountable to them. It has only been about 6 months since I swtarted my checklist and I have completed almost everything on my list. Anything in life is possible. I am proof of that. I encourage you to pick something to work on and break it down. The feeling of accomplishment when you've completed a big goal is an awesome feeling. Just remember to take it one step at a time! Good Luck!