In previous articles I discussed Purpose and Potential (you can visit my website to see these articles). Your purpose defines your basic motivation in life and your potential is the capabilities that you have and can further develop in support of achieving your aspirations. I have also spoken about Presence, which relates to the state of being in which you are fully aware and knowledgeable about your self, others, and the world around you and that allows you to be fully aware of your purpose and potential. Knowing who you are, your place in the world, what motivates you, and your capabilities, however, are not sufficient to ensure that you are on the path to achieving your aspirations. You need to have a plan that builds upon this knowledge and that helps you define and clarify the vision that you have for your life. Preparation is the work that you do to ensure that you have a vision as well as the plan for achieving that vision.

The first step in Preparation is to clarify your short-term and long-term goals. What do you want to achieve? When? Why? How do these goals serve your purpose? In answering these questions, you will be better able to understand where you are going and why. Without this knowledge, you are more likely to go through your day-to-day life without satisfying your purpose or fulfilling your potential. Envision yourself leaving your home and walking the streets without a particular destination in mind. While it might be interesting or fun to begin with, at some point you will begin to ask yourself where you are, why are there and where are you going. Anxiety is likely to set in when you are unable to answer these questions. It is in our nature, as human beings, to have a destination or goals. Even at the most fundamental level of existence, we have goals that are driven by our need for security, shelter and food. At a more complex level, we will have goals that are driven by our need to satisfy our purpose. Through the intentional setting of goals that serve our purpose, we are in a better position to fulfill that purpose and to lead more satisfying lives.

It is also important to ensure that you have goals that are both short-term and long-term. If all of your goals will take many months or years to achieve, it will be too easy to get frustrated and discouraged. You need to have goals that will allow you to gain a sense of accomplishment on a fairly frequent basis. As well, goals need to be clearly defined, measurable, realistic, and have a timeframe attached. You need to know that what you are striving for can be achieved, when it will be achieved, and how you will know that you have achieved it.

The second step in Preparation is to understand what needs to be done in order to achieve your goals. You need a plan that defines the steps required for you to follow in the pursuit of your aspirations. Our lives are very complex. If you think about the last time that you tried to put something together, such as a childs bicycle or a new computer, without following the instructions, you will have a sense for how important it is to have a plan. Knowing your potential is particularly important in this step as it provides the context in which you will build your plan especially if your goals require you to improve on or develop new capabilities. As well, you need to understand what might keep you from achieving your goals. Presence is very important here as it will be your ability to be present that allows you to know what needs to be done, to discover possible roadblocks or challenges, and the path that you will need to follow in order to overcome these challenges.

The final step in Preparation is to write it all down! A written plan is much more real than one that you keep in your head. As well, you can put your written plan in places that will remind you of where you are going and what you need to be doing to get there. If your plan is out in the open and accessible to you, you are more likely to follow it and keep it up to date. Start with your vision and the ultimate goal that is defined by your purpose. From there, define the sub-goals that will move you towards this vision. If you need to, further sub-divide you sub-goals into sub-sub-goals and so on. Finally, write down the specific actions that you need to take in order to achieve your lowest level of sub-goals. Each level of your plan should be more specific and more actionable (i.e. something that you need to do that has very clear and measurable results).

On a final note, it is very important to be focussed in the pursuit of your aspirations. While a well-defined and visible plan will help you keep this focus, you also need to have a manageable number of goals. Too many goals will only serve to confuse and discourage you. As Neil Young sings in the single, The Painter from his new album Prairie Wind (2005), If you follow every dream you might get lost. Staying focussed will help you to always know where you are, where you are going and what your next step is and keeps you from getting lost.