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“Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” -Aristotle

It’s the beginning of a new year, which means that, as an ambitious YBP, you have set new goals for yourself. Some refer to these new goals as resolutions, as in “I resolve to get in shape this year.” But a resolution is really just like any other goal. You see something that you want to better about yourself, so you vow to change your ways in order to improve your lifestyle. Sounds good to me.

In order to be effective in achieving your goals, you must consider many factors. For starters, you have to be specific with your goals, otherwise you allow yourself to be flexible and then here come the excuses. For instance, if you want to lose weight this year, don’t just say “I want to lose weight.” Instead, set a specific goal, such as “I want to lose 10 pounds by Spring Break,” or “I want to fit into a size 6 by April.” Then once you know exactly what you want to achieve, write it down and make a plan of how you are going to achieve it. If you think joining a gym will help you, then join a gym. If you need someone to help you, then enlist a friend to become your workout buddy. Another example of the need to be specific is if you want to apply to graduate/professional school. Saying, “I want to get in to grad school” isn’t really specific. But if you expound on that idea to say “I want to go to Kellogg Business School for my M.B.A. so that I can get a better job,” then your goal is more specific, and thus a clearer plan of action.

Also, you can dream as big as you want to, just be sure to be realistic and keep things in perspective. For example, let’s say you want to be enrolled in law school by the end of the year, but you have yet to take the LSAT or finish your applications. Well, then realistically there is no way that you can be enrolled by this fall. But if it is truly your desire to go to law school, then make it your goal to improve your applications and get a high score on the LSAT by taking more time to study. This way you will be more likely to achieve your overall goal, whereas if you rushed and attempted your goal on an unrealistic timeline, then you could end up disappointed.

Lastly, a very important part of creating and planning goals is to prioritize. You have to decide how important your new goal is in relation to the other things going on in your life. Depending on what your goal is, you might have to sacrifice the amount of time you spend on something else. In other words, decide the rank of priority your new goal has over all the rest. These other things might be a relationship, friends, shopping, etc. For example, if your goal is to turn your side hustle into your dream job, then you might have less time in the day to spend with your loved one or to hang out with friends. Or , if your main goal is to save money for a house or new car, then you will have to cut back on shopping in order save money. Once you prioritize and decide what is most important in your life, then it will be easier to set your goals and map out your plan of action.