It is never too late to learn how to plan out your dream goals for 2023. I first started investing in my goals and in my personal development when I was 16 years old. The circumstances in my life during that time period were unpleasant.

Even though those events sucked, I did not just sit at home and complain all day. I wanted massive changes to happen. Before I could physically take action, I had to learn how to set goals and lay out a framework to help me achieve them.

I believe that it’s best to usually plan out what you want to do beforehand. No one can ever fully prepare for every single situation; however, we can do our best to set ourselves up for success.

So this is why I created this blog post. I’m going to teach you guys how to plan out your dream goals today.

Think about what you want to do

The first thing we’ll do is to think about what you want to do during this year.

There are 5 year and 10 year plans you can make. However, to make this process easier, we will be focusing on goals that can be attained within one year.

Some people already know what they want to accomplish immediately. When I interviewed others and asked them what their goals are, their desires included: being the best spouse, helping a loved one with their personal matters, traveling to new places, eating foods from around the world, and learning more about technology. 

Meanwhile, there are many people in this world who have never given much thought as to how they want their lives to unfold. These people may have been told to go to college or get a certain career by their parents or adult figures.

When you hear the same ideologies throughout your life, it becomes normal to think that is the only way for someone to live. Now I’m not saying it is terrible to go to college or aspire for specific careers because your family or friends did so.

What I am pointing out is that you have the freedom to dream. You can set whatever goals you want.

One of my personal goals is to be a master artist. I’ve been drawing since I was a little kid, so my skill level is excellent at this point. However, I’m still humble enough to admit there is so much I need to learn before I consider myself to be a master.

Some people make fun of artists because they claim art is not a real career. They say you cannot make money from art and go on about how it’s not a sustainable profession. This is where the term “starving artist” comes from. People have also said this directly to my face.

Do I care about what these people think? Hell no. 

At the end of the day, they’re not helping me with my life. Why should I listen to anyone who tries to dump their fear and small-minded views onto me?

If you are having trouble thinking of what goals to set, start by contemplating the aspects of your life that you want to improve on.

Maybe you’ve been feeling exhausted everyday, and you need to get more sleep. Or your job causes you too much stress, and you want a new career. You could be wanting to hang out with some friends, but you haven’t talked to them in a while.

You can also think about new things you have always wanted to try.

One of my friends wanted to go skydiving years ago, and she did so not long after she told me about it. Some of my friends wanted to move to a new place, and they reached their goal after saving enough money. You can also start playing a sport you’ve always thought about.

Have fun thinking about your dream goals. Take your time during this process.

Make a list of up to 5 major goals

After you think of some ideas, the second step is to make a list of up to 5 major goals for the entire year.

Why do I say 5 goals? From personal experience, it is easier to accomplish your goals when there are less of them. You can narrow your focus, time, and energy on whatever is most important to you.

It is essential to write them down in a list. You may have already written them down while brainstorming, but I will explain why writing is so powerful.

When you make a list and put it somewhere you look at everyday, you are much more likely to achieve your goals. 

When I was younger, I wrote my goals in a notebook but I forgot to open it often. I did not accomplish anything as a result. Other people have done this too.

I learned from personal experience that it is much easier to place your list of goals in an area you go to everyday. This can include your fridge’s door, your car’s dashboard, or your bathroom mirror.

If you’re writing your list digitally, you can write down your goals on the notes app. Screenshot the list, and save it as your background. 

You will be more likely to take action on your goals when you see them everyday. Your goals become embedded into your subconscious.

So remember for this second step, think of 5 main goals you want to accomplish and write them down. 

Keep in mind how it doesn’t have to be 5 exactly. You can also just list one or a couple goals you want to focus on during this year. Whatever you don’t accomplish, use them as next year’s goals.

Break down each goal into smaller chunks

As for my third step, you just have to break down each goal into smaller chunks.

It basically consists of:

• Looking at the big picture
• Thinking about what steps are needed to accomplish the goal
• Breaking those steps into weekly and daily tasks

If you don’t know how to achieve a specific goal, ask someone who has accomplished it before. Or you can do your own research online.

I emphasize again it is best to ask someone who was successful in the goal you wish to attain. There are many people in the world who dish out advice carelessly, even those who claim to be coaches or professionals. 

I won’t fault people who do try to make a name for themselves. However, from personal experience, I am able to discern whether or not someone else is qualified enough to give helpful advice.

I’ve seen dating coaches tell people how to form a romantic relationship, but they are chronically single. There are college professors who teach business, but they either never had a business or they don’t have much experience in the industry. Or there are financial planners who tell you which stocks to invest in to make more money, and they’re broke.

All I’m saying is to be careful who you listen to. Even with family and friends too.

For many goals or New Year’s resolutions, people tend to set long-term and ongoing goals. These goals require many steps to complete or maintain, as well as great commitment.

Examples include improving your diet, getting a new career, cutting down or quitting smoking or drinking, and exercising more.

How I improved my diet

I’ll give you an example in regards to improving your diet and eating healthier because this is what I’m focusing on right now.

In my personal life, I’m transitioning to a more vegetarian diet. There were times in my life when I had a solid and healthy diet. Then I got lazy for months last year. My diet during this lazy period mainly consisted of carbs and meat.

While we do need carbohydrates for energy and protein for cell repair, eating only these foods was detrimental to my body in the long run. I took Nutrition and Psychology when I was in college, so I have some knowledge as to how diet affects the body physically and psychologically.

My unbalanced diet made me feel sleepy and grumpy more often. I didn’t have stable energy, and my body wasn’t functioning properly.

After I became aware of what my previous diet was doing to my body, I decided to switch to a vegetarian diet. So I ate foods such as plant burgers, veggie stir fries, omelets, and yogurt with berries.

Besides eating vegetarian dishes, I researched and wrote down what foods I can eat so that I can consume a sufficient amount of nutrients.

Honestly I like my new diet. My body feels different now. And it’s something I will continue to work on for the rest of my life.

So improving your diet is one example, I know I just threw this information out there.

What I did was assess my previous diet, identified what foods were harming my body, then I stopped buying those foods, I replaced those foods with more vegetables. I cooked more at home, rather than eating out at restaurants. I also read vegetarian cookbooks and nutrition guides to learn more about this new diet.

As you can see, improving your diet is only one goal and it contains all of these steps. It took me a couple months to change my diet, but it will take the rest of the year to make this the new norm.

I already provided an example from my personal life when it involved changing my diet. I will give other examples to help you break down your goals.

Tips I used to succeed in school

Another goal people set is to do better in school. They want to study efficiently and do well in their classes. Some of my friends are going to school right now.

I can’t give a general process for doing better in school because everyone is different. People learn differently. And there are people who sign up for 1 or 2 classes while other people are full-time students.

However, I can give you some tips that you can use for this particular goal. I used to be a student too, and I aced my classes.

One thing I’ve always done both in high school and college is that whenever I received homework, I completed my assignments as early as possible. 

What does this mean exactly? So whenever a teacher gives homework, let’s say you have an english class, they want you to read a chapter of a book and then answer some questions. This could be due tomorrow or a few days later.

I recommend staying after school and knocking that homework assignment out right away. Even if it’s not due for a while.

If you’re in high school, tell your parents to pick you up later or walk or ride your bike home after you’re done. If you’re in college, go to the school’s library or a cafe.

I was used to staying after school, and my friends did the same thing too. We had homework dates, and then we’d go out for food or hang out in a park after we finished.

So why did I recommend staying after school? For me personally and it applies to many people as well, I cannot concentrate when I’m at home. I’m also more likely to procrastinate and finish the assignment last minute.

When I’m at home, I don’t want to work on homework. Especially after being in school the whole day. 

These usually apply to smaller and regular homework assignments teachers give you.

When you’re working on a larger project, such as a presentation and you have to speak in front of your class, this requires a different process.

In high school, specifically in English class, I had to do a presentation about visiting a place of a different culture. Actually I had to do this in almost every English class.

During my sophomore year, the first thing I had to think about was deciding where to go for my trip. I asked one of my friends, and that guy said I should visit a temple. He was planning to go there with his family. I’m not sure if he ever visited the temple since we last talked about it, but I ended up going there.

After I arrived at the temple, the next step for me was to gather information. I just took photos on my phone so that I can use them for the presentation. Actually before you even take photos, make sure to talk to the people who live there and ask them if it’s okay to do so. 

I made sure to ask the monks for permission first. They said it was alright and were more than happy to answer my questions. Just because it worked out for me does not mean the people who live in every temple or sacred location will say they’re okay with it. It is important to be mindful and respectful of other cultures.

I interviewed the monks and asked them many questions about their culture. I wrote down their responses and took notes on my phone. I also wandered around the temple and snapped photos of the statues and religious artifacts.

I remember it being a heartwarming and humbling experience for me. It’s refreshing to think about a lifestyle that does not involve any technology.

After I finished visiting the temple and arrived back at school the next day, I started creating my presentation. Back then I used Microsoft Powerpoint. I selected a template and posted my photos in most of the slides.

In my powerpoint, I wrote bullet points on the presentation to describe what was happening in each photo. As for the speech I did in front of my classmates, honestly I did not write a speech back then. I designed my presentation in a way to make it easy for me to recall information. And I studied the heck out of that project. 

For those of you who struggle with public speaking, you can write notes on flashcards and practice speaking in front of family and friends. Keep rehearsing your lines until you gain more confidence.

Alright I gave you guys with a few real-life examples about how to plan out your dream goals. Let’s recap for quick.

The first step is to think about what goals you want to set. Take some time to brainstorm.

The second step is to make a list of up to 5 major goals. Place your goals somewhere you’ll see them everyday.

The third step is to break down each goal into smaller chunks.

After some contemplation, focus, and research, you are now on your way to creating a formidable plan to make your dream goals come true.

Thank you for reading my blog post! I hope you enjoyed it!

Comment down below if you plan on making goals for the new year. What are your dream goals?

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Until then, let’s create, appreciate, and f*** that hate!