Long, Medium and Short Term Goals – Set Your GPS for Life

‘Rakesh bhaiyya, we got lost while coming to college today,’ said Rinku. ‘Thanks to the GPS we could navigate our way easily.’

 ‘Yes bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘I wish there was a GPS for my life too. I’ve no idea where I’ll end up.’

‘But Rahul you set SMART goals last week didn’t you?’ asked Rakesh.

‘Yes bhaiyya, but sometimes I wonder if I am in the right direction.’

‘True,’ laughed Rakesh. ‘Maybe we can use this GPS idea to navigate our life too. Tell me, how do you use the GPS?’

‘Enter our location first,’ said Rinku. ‘And then our destination. It shows us the path and direction.’

‘Ok, we know where we are,’ said Rakesh. ‘Let’s enter the destination. Let’s start with a 20 year goal as your destination. Where do you want to be in 20 years? Set goals for all important areas of your life - career, health, material comforts, financial status, relationships, achievements. Visualize your goal with no limitations of any kind; have a big vision, a masterpiece you can create in twenty years.’

Rahul and Rinku wrote their 20 year goals with a lot of thought.

‘Wow,’ said Rinku after a while. ‘It’s exciting to see our big vision on paper.’

‘Next,’ said Rakesh. ‘Write 10 year goals – career, relationships, material goals etc. Keep them aligned with your 20 year goals.’

‘Sure,’ said they, and diligently wrote their 10 year goals.

‘Five year goals next,’ said Rakesh. ‘By now you must have understood that to get where you want in 20 years, your 5 year goals must be on track too. If Rinku wants to be a top doctor in India in 20 years it might not help to study archeology in the next five years. Right?’

‘We get it bhaiyya,’ said they and wrote five year goals.

‘Lastly, one year goals. Now we are in business. These are real, here and now. These goals should be grounded in reality and also be big enough to catapult you along on to your big vision. If your 20 year vision is to earn 2 million, a 1 year goal of at least 20 K will get you started on the journey in right earnest. If we didn’t have the big vision for context, we wouldn’t know how to set one year goals.’

‘Wow bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘I can see my entire journey ahead of me. I know my milestones and I can correct them as I go.’

‘But remember, like all journeys it may not go exactly as you planned,’ said Rakesh. ‘However if you are sincere, committed and open, chances are your journey and the destination will be far more beautiful than you envisioned.’

‘Yes bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘I feel more reassured now that I have this map.’

‘Me too,’ said Rinku. ‘With my GPS for life, I know where to order chai for all of us.’

Pro Tip: Set goals over three horizons – long, medium and short. Start with your long term goal and align your other goals with it for best results.

 

Exercise: Set goals for a twenty year span – using the SMART goal method. Address career goals, personal goals, financial goals, material goals, spiritual goals. Start with 20 year goals, then 10 year goals, then 5 year goals, then 2 year goals and then align to the end of this academic course goals.  Your goals in each time period must be aligned to the higher goals and must enable the longer term ones. 

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