If you are like most people, you have a nearly endless to-do list, a standard set of chores you must do at work and home, and family responsibilities on top of it all. And let us not forget those hopes and dreams that you have for your life. How are you ever going to get everything done?
To be blunt, you will never get everything done. You only have so much time and energy in a day, a week, a month, and over the course of your entire life. Some of that time and energy will be taken up by things you cannot avoid, such as chores, sleeping, and personal hygiene, leaving you with even less to work with.
You will certainly never accomplish everything on your list of dreams. Does that mean everything is hopeless? Should you throw up your hands and resign yourself to never getting what you want from your life?
Of course not. What it does mean, however, is that you will have to make some choices. Since your resources are not unlimited, you will have to choose what to put them towards. Which of your goals are most important? Which things on your to-do list are non-negotiable?
Making such choices is difficult, but it is the key to leading your best life. If you make choices and work to reach the goals you prioritize, you are much more likely to reach them and have the life you want.
If you do not make these choices, you have effectively chosen to approach life in a haphazard manner. You will constantly juggle everything in your life, just as you are doing right now, and will never make much progress on any of your most important goals.
How do you make these choices? How do you set good goals? What do you do when conflicts arise, or you have to make more difficult choices? And what should you do when things inevitably change, and so do your dreams?
The rest of this series will be devoted to helping you answer these questions so you can make a workable plan for your life and make your dreams come true. The first step is to decide what your priorities are and then make decisions and set SMART goals based on them. Then you put your plan into action.