Hi, Friends,

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the steps we take in our lives that help create our futures, and I started thinking about a list of life goals I made for myself back in high school. I read through them and realized that I needed to create a new "life goals list" because my long-term goals had changed, which meant my short-term goals had to change as well. So how do we go about generating a list of things we want to accomplish if we aren't really sure what career path to choose; or, in my case, how do we go about generating a new list if our goals have changed?

In my opinion, the best time to start generating your "life-goals list" is during your sophomore and/or junior years of high school. During those years, you begin figuring out what activities you enjoy doing on occasion and which activities you enjoy doing during most of your free time. Maybe you enjoy ice skating, going swimming, or running track. Maybe you also enjoy taking pictures, writing short stories, or volunteering your time to help those in need. What's really important, though, is figuring out which of those activities are hobbies (things you like to do every once in a while because they are fun) and which of those things are your passions (things you do during your free time above everything else). Once you have a general idea of what those activities might be, then you can really start thinking about how you might apply your passions to the rest of your life.

For example, let’s imagine you made a list of at least 10 things that you are truly passionate about. Let’s also imagine that photography was number one on your list of passions, followed by writing and volunteering. If you can imagine yourself being a professional photographer, a professional writer, or working for a non-profit organization, then one or more of your passions can begin the list of your long-term goals. But, in order for your long-term goals to be met, you have to create short-term goals.

Your short-term goals might look something like this:

- to apply to my top five college choices, which have a focus in photography, with the hope of being accepted into one or more of them
- to enroll in a creative writing course by the end of my sophomore year to feed my passion for writing short stories
- to submit some of my photos and/or short stories to a campus newspaper/magazine or a scholarship opportunity

Of course, this is just an example of what a list might look like, not what it has to look like. The important thing to keep in mind is setting goals that you are able to achieve. Getting into college for photography, taking writing courses, submitting your work to publications/for awards, and volunteering your time are realistic goals that you could absolutely achieve. An unrealistic goal might be becoming a professional photographer, a professional writer, and the founder of a nonprofit organization by the time you graduate college. Yes, those are admirable goals that are possible to attain at some point in your life, but to attain all of those goals by the time you graduate college would be considered unrealistic.

For those of you that have already created a list of long-term and short-term goals that has changed over the course of the years don’t be discouraged—things like this happen. As we grow older, and we’re learning and experiencing life, we change. Sometimes our dreams change with us and sometimes they stay same. All you have to do is go back to your list and alter it to fit the life you imagine yourself living—simple as that!

Remember: while it is important to set your sights high and believe you have the ability to accomplish extravagant goals, it is also important that your goals are 1) realistic and achievable in the time frame you set for yourself and 2) related to the career path you’ve chosen so your passions can shine through. If you can do those two things, then you have a pretty good shot at being both happy and successful in your professional life.

Take care,
Kendra