We all have goals. I’ve never met someone that told me everything is perfect and they don’t want anything else. If the goal isn’t career based it’s experience based or ability based. Maybe you want to travel to Europe or learn how to surf. They’re all goals. Where to start though? Do you make your career goals first or your life goals? How do you prioritize? Well, I’ll tell you how I do it in this upcoming series. I hope it’ll work for you too. Let’s get started!
My first step is always life goals. I work to live I don’t live to work. I think this is important for everyone. Even if your goal is to be the highest grossing Realtor in the world that’s much more a life goal than a career goal. You will have to sacrifice a lot in the life side of the work/life balance column if that’s your goal and that means that your life will be affected. So even though it sounds like a career goal it’s a lifestyle choice you’re making. And that’s OK!
Now it’s time to have a little fun! Do some brainstorming and figure out what matters to you! You can start a few different ways. For me, I like to think about what I want for myself. If I were to look back in 30 years will I be happy with how I spent my time? If you have a family this may look a little different. You may want to ask that question but also ask, “When my kids look back on their childhood how do I want them to feel?” I encourage you to do this in whatever way suits you best. I like to write on a blank piece of paper but you could type it out. You could write a journal style entry, bullet list, sit with your partner over a glass of wine and excitedly shout ideas at each other, whatever works! You can see mine below.
Web like brainstorm sheet with my goals
And there it is! I basically started at the top right and as I worked my way around I realized that what I actually wanted was freedom. I want the ability to make my life choices because I want to make them, not because something else is dictating them. I don’t want to worry about vacation time or budget (to an extent, ultimately everyone has a budget). I want to decide what I want to do and do it. This is not to say that I won’t have any responsibilities. I have to make sure my clients are taken care of. A huge portion of my life goals includes being there for my family and friends when they need me (or just want some help or company). When I stop and think, “how do I want to have spent my time on this earth”, this is a pretty good list.
.You’ll note, there is NOTHING about my career in here. I suppose I could have added something like, “enjoy what I do for work.” I don’t want to spend a large portion of my time doing something I hate, but ultimately all I really need from my career is to do something that allows me to achieve all these other goals. It doesn’t really matter what it is. Does this mean I don’t care about real estate or my clients at all? Of course not! Part of supporting and improving my community is helping people find their place in it. Connecting with my clients and helping them find a place they can live happily brings more joy to the community and allows people to thrive.
If you’ve never done something like this before, I recommend doing it a few times over a couple of days. As you go through you’ll start to see what comes up every time and that’s what is most important to you. I’ve never done this as part of a couple but I think your best bet is to do this separately and then come together and make a new goals sheet that works for your family. Your partner might have thought of something you didn’t, you might have a lot of overlap, and you almost definitely can work together on at least some of your goals. I encourage you not to spend too much time thinking about numbers here. This is not a, “I need $100,000 a year to live the life I want” exercise. This is what do you want your life to look like. Numbers come later. I’d love to see your goal sheet if you want to share! What did you learn about yourself?