I just read an article all about how setting goals is correlated with increased performance. I love to think about what is holding me back and then set goals to get rid of that.

My career goals are still a little fuzzy at this point bc I just can’t figure out what I want. I know there is more school involved though.

I do like to set goals and have plans. I’m working on my financial plan to get outof debt now and a fitness plan that involves a triathlon.

A quote I go by is, “A goal without a plan is just a dream.” You really do have to set things up logically and step by step to make them happen.

It’s silly (nerdy perhaps), but I like to maintain a Life Strategic Plan, including the following sections: Overview, Vision, Needs Assessment, SWOT Analysis, Goals, Objectives, Action Plans, Implementation Timeline, and Evaluation/ Measurement.

This type of method is used in work settings, and our personal lives deserve just as much attention, detail, and planning — more perhaps.

I think its important to have a plan, but also to be flexible. We are all so hard on ourselves, so if we set goals and then life gets in the way (as it often does) we tend to tear ourselves up. I think its good to have determination, but also to allow yourself to adapt to whatever is going on in your life.
Thank for sharing this Caitlin!

What a great post! I am trying to figure out my non-going to med school life!

I like to use “PDCA” – Plan, Do, Check, Adjust. So many people do the first two steps, but forget to check their progress and adjust their plan accordingly. i learned this from my husband, and it’s great 🙂

I think you are an amazing role-model and someone who has achieved dreams and goals, writing and publishing your own book! What you have started, Operation Beautiful, is AMAZING!!!

I wonder how many people saw your note! I hope it made some people’s days! I got the BEST feeling when I had left my own and then again when I saw them on your website. I should really leave a few more!

I have been so bad about following through on my goals lately. Although, I’m about to go do my push-ups today!

Oatmeal is a good bet for a healthy breakfast, but I’m not sure that any of Starbucks’ other offerings are go-to healthy foods.

I like specific goals, but my methods for reaching them are usually better off more general.

This topic is so personal and relevant to my life right now…

I too am self employed and have realized the importance of not only defining goals for my bus and personal life BUT these goals must be in alignment with my values. I have an incredible opportunity to work on my own and create my life but with that comes the fear of the unknown. How will I build myself and how will I find the path I am looking for?

Ultimately what has brought me some of the success I have experience these last 6 months has been defining goals that truly matter to me and how I want to lead my life! WIthout that, the goal wouldn’t really matter even if everyone in the world wanted me to achieve it!

Goals truly need to be personal and meaningful…then BIG THINGS HAPPEN! : )

Congrats on your continued work, success and inspiration!

Ooh I love to plan! I live life on goals 🙂

How close do you think you are to being sustainable self-employed? I want more than anything to be self employed but I also don’t want to have to live paycheck to paycheck for the rest of my life. Is your income mostly stemmed from the blog and it’s surrounding projects or are you involved in other ventures?

I don’t really do anything in particular to establish my goals. But I do find that if I TELL somebody about it, I am instantly more driven to achieve it!

My most recent goal that I’ve accomplished was last month when I ran the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon! I discovered this race last year (’09) during chemo, and KNEW that this was the race for me. When I told my hubby about it, he said “Well, just make that your goal.” So that’s exactly what I did. I ran it in 2:04:29 and had the most amazing time. I remember feeling almost sad towards the end because it was almost over! I felt so healthy, strong, and accomplished for meeting my goal after a year’s worth of surgeries and treatment. As a bonus, we also got to have the most wonderful family vacation ever. We took the kids out of school for the week and had our first time of pure enjoyment since September 16, 2008 (the day I was diagnosed). It was a great week and good for all our souls. 🙂

I like your life goal-getting process. It’s scary to shun the corporate world and do it your own way. I’m still figuring out my path but spend the past two years after graduation traveling around the world and writing about it. Right now, it’s not possible to make enough money freelancing to do it full time so I’m searching for a job but the ultimate goal is to be a self-employed writer. If you work hard, you can achieve ANYTHING.

I love setting goals. I actually have a five year plan that gets updated constantly. I have my goals that I want to achieve this year broken down into categories- Fitness, Work, Family, etc. then I break down the steps to achieve those goals in quarters. Every morning before I start my work day I look over my goals so I remember what I am working for.

I like making specific goals with a set timeline. It helps keep my accountable! I also find having short term and long term goals help.

Thanks so much for this post, Caitlin. I totally needed to read that exact thing. I am at the point in my academic career that things are all coming to a head and I need to set mini goals so I don’t go insane from all the mounds of work I need to do.

Also, your fitness related goal setting is exactly what I’ll be doing this week. I just decided that I am going to do a 5k walk in my home town of San Diego this August. It will be my first race. It will also be the longest I’ve walked in a LONG time. I did a little over a mile the other day and it took 30 minutes, while the max time for this race is 60 minutes. So I have to train to reach the goal of doing 3.1 miles in under an hour.

Goal setting is imperative to ensure I graduate without being burnt out and to ensure that I can complete my first race. Thanks again for the post 🙂

I write down my goals, and tell people about them – it helps to keep me accountable.

I love Starbucks oatmeal!

Wow, this post was great for me to read. I set goals all the time, but I rarely actually write down a plan to make them happen. I’m suddenly realizing how beneficial that would be.

I love that OB note. I think there are more people out there than we realize who really need to hear that…including myself!

I love your OB note! I like to post goals on my blog and on my dry erase board, other than that I’m pretty low-key!

Bananas and pecans are such a great breakfast food combination 🙂

Hey Caitlin! I just wanted to say you should be so so proud of yourself for getting out there and perusing self-employment. It’s so easy to rely on a job you don’t like simply for the security. Sometimes I feel like your readers (and you!) don’t give you enough credit. You are an inspiration and I hope you know it!