Do you write your goals down? Why not? It's been proven and demonstrated over and over again that writing down your goals makes them much more likely to happen. And reviewing them regularly makes it even more likely!
I was just reviewing mine, and I found an old list from 2005. I was astonished at what had come true! I had forgotten that I wrote those particular things down. Some of them are too personal to share, but there were a bunch of BIG ONES that I didn't realize I had written down that long ago and I have done! Here are a few examples:
- I have skydived (yes, that's me in the photo- click it for larger view)
- I have created a significant way to give back my time and talents to a charity
- I have visited Italy (exactly the cities I wrote down)
- I've gone to many Broadway plays
- I've visited Hawaii
- I've seen a live volcano (in Costa Rica)
- I've published a book
- We landscaped the backyard
I felt incredible reading that list over! And of course, there are many that are not done, but they are well underway which is also interesting. And some of them I hadn't thought about for the whole six years, but reading them again made me realize they were worth putting back on my radar.
So over this Memorial Day weekend, find a peaceful moment and sit and write your goals down. I like to use mindmapping software to do mine, because you can pour out your thoughts more easily and rearrange them. My current goals map looks like this image I have posted here below. I have been using MindGenius Business software as long as I can remember, but I also like MindManager. These are expensive business applications, but there are other less expensive mindmapping software products... here is a list of them.
It's helpful to have a list of categories to jog your thinking-- here are the ones I like using:
Family & Relationships
- Contribution/Legacy
- Travel
- Personal Development
- Achievements
- Health & Fitness
- Home & Possessions
- Business/Career
- Financial
The "Home & Possessions" category is where you'll write down your organizing goals like having an organized closet, garage, kitchen, etc.! And "Personal Development" is where you'll write down how you want to learn better time management skills. :)
Enjoy dreaming! And maybe several years later you'll have some nice surprises too when you look back at your list. Do you write down your goals? Do you have different categories or a different way of doing it? Share in the comments!
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Lorie, I came upon an old list of dreams/goals not that long ago and, just like you, I was amazed at how many had materialized - even the really crazy ones like "host a TV show","publish a book" and "become a professional speaker". Unfortunately, "get on the Oprah show" never happened though, and it's time to let that one go! Thanks for reminding everyone of the power of dreaming big and writing it down!
Posted by: Hellen Buttigieg | May 27, 2011 at 09:22 PM
Lorie, thanks for jogging my memory on mind-mapping and setting goals. As I'm completing 15 months of professional school (one goal achieved), I'm setting up goals for moving forward in business and my personal life. I didn't realize there were software programs on mind-mapping, but I'm going to look into using one for setting goals. Since I always have lots of "irons in the fire," mind-mapping will help me visualize my goals and priorities. Thanks.
Posted by: MaryJane Cathers | May 28, 2011 at 07:05 AM
I attended a seminar about 5 or 6 years ago where the speaker challenged us to make a list of 100 goals. Since I was nearly 50 years old at the time, I decided 50 goals might be more doable. After reading your post, I pulled my list out. I haven't accomplished very many, but the ones I did were big ones..."Visit all 50 states before the end of my 50th year" "Earn a Bachelors Degree" "Learn a foreign language" "Write a screenplay" (I've written two, feature-length!) "Ride on a dog sled." I have several I am currently working on, such as "Learn to manage my time." :)
Posted by: Trudy | May 28, 2011 at 10:12 AM
@Hellen-- I KNOW!! That is so cool!! I had some crazy ones on there too that have come true... so powerful. Thanks!
@MaryJane-- Congratulations on the schooling goal that you achieved! I hope you enjoy the mindmapping-- I love it. I wrote my books with mindmaps.
@Trudy-- DOG SLED???? You rock! I am so impressed! That is a really good one. I have no doubt you can do whatever you set out to do!!
Thanks for sharing, everyone!
Posted by: Lorie Marrero | May 31, 2011 at 07:52 AM