Whatever our dreams, we can only accomplish them if we have a plan to do it

Everyone has personal dreams.

One person may want to be a doctor or a lawyer, while another may want to play in the NFL. Another person may want to be a teacher, while yet another may want to be a stay-at-home Mom.

Some may want to own a home on the beach, and some may want to take annual trips to the mountains to snowboard. Our personal dreams give us hope and may providethe incentive to stay in school or work harder to improve our grades.

Whatever our dreams, we can only accomplish them if we have a plan to do it

Dreams will remain fantasies until we take steps to make them real. The difference between dreams and goals is the level of commitment. Setting goals enables us to identify what is really important to us so we can prioritize our behaviors. It helps us to concentrate our time and energy on what is important, keeping us from distractions that consume our scarce resources.

To transition from dreams to goals, most experts recommend writing them down. Once written, they give us a sense of control and hope for the future. At that point, our goals give us purpose and start to shape ourhope for the future. At that point, our goals give us purpose and start to shape our choices today and tomorrow. The more we believe in our goals, the more determined we are to achieve them. Goals become a source of motivation and confidence.

Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

Short-term goals are more immediate. They can be reached in a few months. Examples may be making an A in your math class, getting the lead role in the class play or helping Dad clean out the garage. Medium-term goals take a little longer, generally about one to three years. That may include buying a car or graduating from
high school. Long-term goals take five years or more to accomplish, and may be more difficult because they are further away. Long-term goals may be graduating from college, owning a home, being a grandparent or running a marathon

When setting goals, it is recommended that you start with at least one long-term goal. Shorter goals have little meaning or purpose unless they are leading to some kind of long-term objective. Smaller, short-term goals can keep you working everyday on a consistent basis towards your main goal. When a goal is far away, it is often
easier to forget about it or get discouraged. Those short-term goals, however, are
frequent reminders of what we want to achieve.