30 day writing challenge – Day #15

Do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Take a moment, step back from your concerns, and focus on one thing: You have one life to achieve everything you’ve ever wanted. Sounds simple, but when you really focus on it, let it seep into your consciousness, you realize you only have about 100 years to get every single thing you’ve ever wanted to do. No second chances. This is your only shot. Suddenly, this means you should have started yesterday. No more waiting for permission or resources to start. Today is the day you make the rest of your life happen. Write down one thing you’ve always wanted to do and how you will achieve that goal. Don’t be afraid to be very specific in how you’ll achieve it: once you start achieving, your goals will get bigger and your capability to meet them will grow.

 

I’ve always wanted to be able to run 5km without feeling like I’m about to die. This year my friends + my brother have set themselves challenges to run 6kms and 10kms in a fun run by June. I will be joining them.

To achieve this goal, I’ll begin walking home every alternate day for the month of January. In February, I will be running and walking a total of 3km each weekend. In March, I’ll be doing that at least twice a week and pushing it up to 5km. By April, I hope to be able to run 3km without stopping. This means by May I should be able to run 4km without stopping. And in June, I should be able to do that 6km run. 

Here’s to 2012 and achieving that one goal!

30 day writing challenge – Day #14

When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The world buzzes about goals and visions. Focus. Create a vivid picture of exactly where you want to go. Dream big, then don’t let anything or anyone stop you. The problem, as Daniel Gilbert wrote in Stumbling Upon Happiness, is that we’re horrible at forecasting how we’ll really feel 10 or 20 years from now – once we’ve gotten what we dreamed of. Often, we get there only to say, “That’s not what I thought it would be,” and ask, “What now?” Ambition is good. Blind ambition is not. It blocks out not only distraction, but the many opportunities that might take you off course but that may also lead you in a new direction. Consistent daily action is only a virtue when bundled with a willingness to remain open to the unknown. In this exercise, look at your current quest and ask, “What alternative opportunities, interpretations and paths am I not seeing?” They’re always there, but you’ve got to choose to see them.

 

I’m back on the writing challenge, finally. It seems almost fortuitous that my interim performance review took place a bit over a week ago. I took the time to prepare for it because I was quite serious about how I wanted the next 6 months to go. 

I thought about where I wanted to be in 5 years, and then worked backwards towards the goals I had to achieve in the next 6, 12, 18 etc months to get to my 5 year goalpost. In 5 years I’d like to be leading an external communications team in a small firm or at least be a 2IC with a big company. I’d also like to be working in a different country in 5 years. 

I’m not quite sure what my alternatives are at this point, but if I’m still living here in Australia, I hope to be in a completely different industry, i.e., no longer in financial services but rather in technology or perhaps even healthcare or sciences. Who knows? What I do know is I don’t want to be pigeon holed so early in my career. 

We shall see where this 5 year journey takes me. First, I need to work out my 6, 12 and 18 month plan for myself, complete with a SWOT analysis. It’s all about the plan, baby.