[Part 1] Unlock Your Potential with a Life Plan

Do you ever find yourself coming to a point in life and asking yourself “What now?” Many things (good and bad) can prompt that question. Doors to opportunities open and close. We finish schooling and professional development.  We enjoy progress and success. Or we face challenges and setbacks. Personal and family difficulties arise. A life plan with goals and objectives can turn these “what now” moments into opportunities to keep us on track and unlock our potential.

Before a brain injury that I’ve mentioned before, I had made a small list of life objectives that motivated me through my recovery.   During this recovery period I realized my progress towards my goals was very slow.  I spent several weeks making a lot of notes about what was keeping me from achieving what I wanted.  It became apparent that it was going to take alot of work on myself to get to where I wanted to go.  Most of the things I wanted to accomplish were related to family relationships and spiritual growth (I am a person of faith), but there was a financial component to them.  Progress towards these goals was going to require focus on several areas of my life: career development, budgeting, saving habits, time management, etc.

That list of improvements was initially daunting, but it helped me get started.  The roadblocks to my success  were no longer a scary, abstract unknowns.  They were now finite and limited.  I knew what I needed to do.  I knew what I needed to overcome.  The list of obstacles was now a checklist I could work on.

This type of thought exercise would be helpful to anyone who wants a better vision of their dreams & goals and how to utilize strengths and overcome obstacles to achieve them. This evaluation also helps understand your advantages and setbacks.

The thinking I went through can be broken down into 4 parts:

• What skills do you have to start with?
• What skills do you need to develop?
• How are you going to get the experience you need?
• Do you have any personal challenges to overcome?

The idea here is not to get down on yourself.  You just want an accurate picture of where you are, so you know what you need to do to move forward.

If you haven’t already, consider making a list of what success in your life looks like (my list here).  If that’s already complete, evaluate where you’re starting from. Over the next few weeks, I’ll post more that will help you gather your resources, face your obstacles, and start making the progress you want.