Our Very Own Life List of Goals

Goals without an action plan is a wish list.

Imagine getting into your car, opening up Maps or Waze, and typing in a certain destination. Then, imagine that app showing the specific location without providing directions from where you currently are. Or, even worse, imagine that app providing multiple locations similar to the destination you chose unaccompanied by guidance, next steps, and planned-out routes. The result: anxiety.

Metaphorically, this equates to ideation without implementation.

Anxiety derives from complexity and uncertainty.

Calmness comes from clarity and perceived certainty.

Life rewards the specific ask and punishes the vague wish.

– Jim Rohn

So, when we set goals for 2025… let’s follow them up with an action plan.

An action plan includes relevant tasks to be completed at a sustainable frequency. Consider behaviors that directly or indirectly increase the probability of achieving a goal, a result in the future, based on our own unique desires and interests. It would be helpful to select a milestones our present-day selves would be grateful for.

Here is an example of a SMART goal common amongst various age groups: I want to improve my inner circle by the Summer of 2025 so that I have 3-5 close friends, 2 mentors, and 1 community I’m actively involved with. Here is a hypothetical action plan for this goal: (a) reach out to at least three people from my network per week, (b) travel to two locations of like-minded individuals [e.g. coffee shop or gym] per week, (c) email or online message one to three people I look up to per week, (d) say “yes” to at least two adventures or events per month. Goal-setting narrows attention; action improves likelihood of accomplishment.

SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They should be tied to personal values and responsibilities. They should be challenging yet realistic — each goal should require consistent effort over the course of a reasonable timeline.

Many individuals choose not to set goals because clearly defining an aim marries the following idea: I fail if I do not accomplish what I desire. That’s accurate; however, failing is different than being a failure. Failing is inevitable. Becoming a failure only occurs when an individual lets his or her aims remain ambiguous. Personal success happens by intention, not by accident.

“We are not judged by the number of times we fail. We are judged by the number of times we succeed… and the number of times we succeed is directly related to the number of times we fail and keep moving forward.”

The human brain craves perceived certainty. When we set out towards a destination, we are bound to hit traffic, find roads filled with construction, and be delayed by accidents. The joy must be found in the journey… in the adapting, learning, and understanding of life’s obstacles.

The better we become at problem-solving, the better we become at setting goals in the future. The better we become at setting goals, the better we become at creating an action plan with precision. The better we become at creating an action plan, the more confident we become about who we’re becoming.

It’s not about what we get from it. It’s about who we become by it.

John Goddard, a world-renowned adventurer and explorer, famously wrote his ambitious Life List of Goals when he was 15 years old. Often referred to as the “real-life Indiana Jones,” Goddard traversed the Nile River, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, became a pilot, learned multiple languages, and explored depths in various oceans as a scuba diver. When he passed away at age 88, Goddard completed 109 of his original 127 from his Life List of Goals. His legacy has inspired many others to life their lives to the fullest and to create their own bucket lists. Along his journey, he proclaimed: “When I was 15, all the adults I knew seemed to complain, ‘Oh, if only I’d done this or that when I was younger.’ They had let life slip by, so I made up my mind that I would never be like that.”

How do we begin? By making up our minds. Furthermore, by making up in our minds. Even more certainly, by making our own Life List of Goals up in our minds and putting them down on paper.

It’s not about whether we attain each and every goal we set. It’s about the person we become by striving.

We are always becoming…

For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

– Jim Rohn

Will we open our gifts and make the most of our talents?