Test Short-, medium- and long-term goals

QUESTION 1: HOW DO WE DEFINE OUR GOALS?

In our professional and personal lives, we always set goals, such as owning a property, getting a better job or even starting a business
They are simple dreams in the first instance, but they can become palpable realities if we set limits to fulfill them
We define them according to their order of priority, short, medium or long term duration
Within the question that arises about how to put our knowledge into practice, we always want to reach the biggest dream

As you can imagine, short-term objectives are proposed to be achieved in a short period of time, approximately one month, one week or days
We usually do not notice the progress towards our main objective because these are not usually the goal, but the means to achieve it
We can propose something simple both personally and professionally, deposit a percentage of our income in a savings account or go to the gym twice a week
On the professional side, we demand specific deadlines for tasks such as redesigning the image of our business, making a work plan or putting together a work team

A good technique for defining objectives is smart, which stands for the ideal characteristics of short-term objectives
These characteristics are decoded by letter and place us in specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound objectives
It is useless to walk around with our dreams in the clouds when the important thing is to make them as attainable as possible to our real possibilities
We can estimate an approximate of what those key results would be but always the time limit is important to keep moving forward

These types of medium-term goals require more management time for our projects, generally spanning months of hard work
Within these medium-term goals we also set small goals that need to be met until we have reached the next deadline
An example of medium-term goals would be to change the color of the interior of the house, for which it would take two months, dedicating weekends to work; short goals are on weekends and holidays
In this way we can structure how to achieve our objectives in order to understand their use and future results

Long-term goals are where dreams and far-reaching objectives that most of the time are not within our reach in the present come to fruition
Of course, they depend on all the other short- and medium-term goals that help us to get closer to our vision
Most of these long-term goals are manifested in aspirations such as moving to another country, having a university degree or starting a family
The truth is that most of our goals may undergo modifications or changes over time as our personal level of maturity determines many of the most pressing decisions

Planning for the future is always essential for life's journey
In one way or another we project an advance that manifests itself in conquests of our own will
Dreaming is inevitable when it comes to goals of any kind, but the main resource we must have is self-discipline
Through it we learn to organize our time and agenda to establish steps and procedures to follow for the purpose we desire

We tend to hold life or external factors responsible for the direction of our path and then we wonder where is the key to success?
When we do not accomplish what we set out to do, when things get out of control, we hold other people responsible for not recognizing the possible lack of consistency and determination in our desires
We don't need to look so far outside when the key to success lies in all that we are capable of being or doing
None of the above

It is always important what information we consume to empower ourselves with emotional or practical tools to facilitate more effective progress toward our goals
Difficulties also play a role and are necessary to test the ability to know how to solve them or make the most of them