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Where are you right now? No, I don’t mean at the restaurant or the bar after-hours winding down. I am talking about where you are on the map of your life. Most of us in the service industry are here because of the flexibility, which inherently implies that we have other interests or pursuits. Where are you with that? Would you go on a trip without planning it, making reservations and mapping out your stops along the way? No Way! But most of us, for whatever reason, go through life haphazardly – never planning it out or consulting the map. Then, we are astounded when we wind up in Istanbul and we meant to be in New York City.
Mapping out your life’s journey doesn’t have to be the overwhelming task that it seems to be. It is actually rather fun. But you have to start with the big picture, lifetime goals, in order to break them down into smaller, achievable bites. Some night when you are hanging around, sit down with a piece of paper and start writing down everything and anything that interests |
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you or that you would enjoy doing, whether it’s art, travel, education, parenting, physical, or professional. Include all areas of your life and you will have the points on the map.
The next step is to break the big picture into realistic, achievable steps or stops along the way. Being realistic is imperative. If you set your goals too high, you doom yourself to failure and loss of confidence. Conversely, if your goals aren’t high enough, you will underachieve your ultimate potential. Try to set goals that raise your average performance and make it consistent.
When you have defined your goals, it is important to think them through. Take an honest look at your skills, abilities, and opportunities for improvement. If you are taking a trip to Hawaii, you don’t need a parka, but sunscreen would be helpful. To reach your ultimate destination, what will you need to get there? Identify information, resources, and assistance that you will need along the way. Think about the |
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