Goals are important.

Professional goals may include getting the appropriate training and education, obtaining opportunities to grow in your selected field, rising in seniority or starting your own business.

Personal goals may include deciding where to live, learning a fun skill or sport, finding a life partner or having children.

I help my clients identify their goals and design a path toward achieving them.

BUT…

We need to be flexible while pursuing our goals for two reasons.

First, much of life is out of our control and we need to adapt and change as external events occur. Illness, deaths, natural disasters and, perhaps most of all, other people’s actions affect us and it’s OK to reevaluate our original goals. This doesn’t mean we necessarily toss out our goals, but we may have to make mid-course modifications.

Second, we grow and change as we age. Decisions we made at 18 or 22 may no longer serve us well at 32, 42 or 52. With greater life experience and wisdom, we may want to set new goals, or at the very least, refine our original goal.

So, go ahead and set your goals, knowing you’ll need to be flexible. Your goals and how to achieve them aren’t set in stone.

You get one life. Live it your way. Each step of the way.