Introduction

With so much uncertainty it might seem counter intuitive to plan your career but as we come to the end of the year and look more optimistically towards 2021 now is the time to decide what you want.

By designing an ambitious goal you create the mechanism for identifying your ideal life. No-one gets everything they want but by setting the bar high you will leap further for three reasons:
1. The stretching nature of the goal itself will push you to achieve more.
2. Identifying different elements of your goal helps you see your priorities so you allocate your time better, increasing your chances of getting stuff done.
3. Knowing what you want helps you see opportunities that will help you get there.

Increase my motivation

For me the impact of the pandemic kicked in on the week of 15 March when training, workshops and meetings for every client in every country became virtual. Since then I feel I have been reacting to events. 2020 is not a year where I have been in the driving seat of my career. Whilst I have worked hard to keep everything on track, it doesn’t feel very motivating to be the one having change done to me.

By creating a compelling, exciting description of my future I can get my motivation back. My goal includes things that are important to me, that I want to achieve, because they align to my values and how I want to interact with the world. I get pleasure from thinking how it will feel this time next year to have succeeded with these ambitions. This in turn excites me to get going.

Creating my goals

Seeing my ambitious set out on a mind map helps me identify connections I need to make and studying I need to do to put me in shape for getting what I want.

I use a mind map so that I can see the different elements that contribute to the bigger picture. The shape of the mind map demonstrates that each of the branches connects and supports the others.

It turns my hopes for 2021 into concrete plans, inspired by this quote (source unknown):
An idea written down with a date becomes a goal
A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan

Next steps

So let’s get started:

• Create your own mind map
• Identify a handful of actions and mark their achievement in your schedule for next year.

And to keep up your momentum, pick 3 things you can do now to start your journey.