How to Invest in the Life You Want Today Chetna Jain January 2, 2019 Money 2060 Achieving anything substantial in life requires significant commitment, discipline, and focus. The most successful people in the world don’t just stumble into having all of their dreams come true. Unless you happen to be born into wealth and opportunity, you’ll probably have to work at reaching your full potential. Unfortunately, a lot of people try to get by with just enough and forget to put the world in for anything more significant. Although you can get by on having enough for a while, there’ll come a point in your life when you feel unfulfilled and decide that you want to achieve more. If you’re ready to take control of your life, and make sure that you’re constantly working towards new accomplishments, then there are a few steps you can take to boost your chances of success. Here’s how to get started. Set Goals that are Reachable The first step in reaching the life that you want is deciding what you actually want to achieve. There’s no limit to what most of us can do if we put our mind to it. However, having an easy-to-follow list of goals can help you to remain focused on the right targets. When setting your goals, make sure that they’re specific, measurable, and attainable. This means that it’s not enough just to tell yourself that you want to be rich in the next five years. How much money do you want to make and why? What are you going to do to reach your goals, and are your plans realistic? Timebound and realistic goals are also valuable, as they help you to avoid veering into ridiculous territory. Create a Plan Once you have a good goal in mind, you can begin thinking about what it’s going to take to get you from wherever you are now to where you want to be. Is your goal going to take a significant time of effort? Are their multiple steps involved? Most big goals often break down into smaller, more achievable segments. For instance, if you want to make sure that you have more money in your life, then you might need to get a different job. To obtain a higher-paying role, you’ll need to build on your existing skills and education. Before you do that, you need to decide what kind of industry you want to be involved with. Breaking your larger target down into smaller, more logical steps will help the path to your goal to appear less overwhelming. What’s more, the little steps that you achieve on the path to success will help to keep you motivated and inspired when the going gets tough. Remember, it’s always worth taking a closer look at your plan from time to time to see if there’s anything you need to update. Develop Your Resources Determination and clarity of vision are two of the most important things you can have as you work to transform your life. However, there’s a good chance that you’re going to need some more resources too. For instance, if your ambition is to start your own business, then you’re going to need plenty of emotional support from your family, as well as professional support from the right team. If you’re planning on pursuing a high-level job, you’ll need to examine your current resume and ask yourself where you need to build on your skills. Some of the talents you need might be available to develop through volunteering sessions or mentor programs at your existing workplace. For other skills, you might need to think about taking out a student loan with a private lender and enroll in some college-level classes. There are different types of student loans available to cover the cost of tuition for borrowers. Make a list of all the things you’re going to need to get you to your ultimate end goal, and the kinds of resources you can invest in now to take your initial first steps. You don’t have to build all of your resources at once. Invest in Emotional Development Too More often than not, achieving the life we want isn’t just about making extra cash or buying a bigger house. Money can’t buy happiness, and anything that you’re going to try and achieve in your life is going to require significant emotional strength and grit. With that in mind, it pays to invest in your emotional development too. Learn how to trust your gut, and when you should be pushing yourself beyond your pre-existing boundaries to reach new opportunities. Invest in building your confidence by attending as many events and networking opportunities as possible. Interacting with other people will give you excellent opportunities to improve your communication skills, and you might discover some career and personal opportunities here too. If you have some issues with things like self-esteem, then you might want to consider putting some time into therapy or working on your inner peace through mediation. Pay Attention to Your Needs Finally, remember that the goals you set for personal growth might change as you evolve and learn new things about the world around you. Although you might be looking to get a higher-paying job today, you may later discover that it’s not the extra money you’re interested in, but the ability to work in a position that you can feel passionate about. If you notice that your strategies and methods for personal development are having a negative impact on you in anyway, such as causing additional stress or relationship issues, it might be worth asking yourself where you can adapt to overcome these issues. Don’t just keep pushing yourself to a point where your physical and emotional health begins to suffer. As you progress on your new life path, make sure that you stay committed to the goals that are most important to you. But don’t be afraid to change path from time to time and consider alternative routes too. It often takes time for most oof us to find a strategy that really works, and you need to be open to using the lessons that you learn along the way. SHARE THIS POST