Remembering What Really Matters

How do you determine what matters most in life? Do you lean towards professional goals or personal goals? Do you have a good mix of both? Career advice you give to yourself is pointless unless you follow through with the goals you set for yourself. Remember these tips as you stick with your plan to achieve success.

The difficulty with your best-laid plans is that life gets in the way. You want to spend more time with your family, but your boss wants you to spend extra hours at work. The tug of war between your professional and personal life begins. Soon, you may forget your goals and what matters most to you because other details interrupt your plans.

Instead of shoving your dreams aside, take your career advice and treat what matters most to you like you need to breathe. You can't ignore the fact that you must inhale and exhale to provide your body with oxygen, so you need to treat your lungs properly and take care of them. Learn to breathe first to avoid the consequences of ignoring your body's needs much like you shouldn't ignore your own hopes for your life.

1. Make a List

Start by making a list of what matters most to you. It can be owning your own company, being a fantastic parent or retiring by age 50. Write down this list. If something is not on the list, it simply doesn't matter, and anything else is secondary.

2. Check It Twice

Organize your list into categories, such as short-term goals versus long-term goals. Think about how what matters most fits into your life. Prioritize your goals with specific outcomes in mind.

3. Make It Pretty

Make your list pretty with fonts, photos and special paper. Make it stand out from your ordinary work so you pay attention to it.

4. Keep It Close

Keep your list close to you. Place copy in your wallet, on your dresser, on the wall in your bathroom and in your car so you see it almost everywhere you look. Those visuals of your smiling family and friends from your list remind you of why you're doing this in the first place.

5. Invest Some Money

To make progress with your list, you have to invest some money to reach your goals. Do you need some extra education to become a vice president of a company? Spend some money on business leadership courses.

6. Seek Help

Everyone needs help to accomplish their goals. Surround yourself with the most supportive people who can help you follow your dreams.

7. Track Progress

Track your progress along the way to see if you stack up to your organized list. Reward yourself for accomplishing little goals on the way to your major ones.

8. Be Afraid

You may need a healthy dose of fear of failure to motivate your quest. Remember what happens when you cannot breathe.

What matters most to you should be the first priority. Neglecting this part of your life may lead to gasping for air when you can't breathe, which creates chaos and upset instead of harmony.

Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net