Future Planning
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Future Planning
Regardless of whether you are excitedly anticipating the future, or anxiously dreading it, one thing is for sure - it is going to happen. Whilst many things are beyond our control, there are plenty of actions that we can take now, to help set ourselves up for a bright and successful life. Here is a quick guide I've written based off my own personal experiences. It doesn't matter how old you are, or what your plans may involve, there are simple steps you can take to build the foundations of a stable life in the present, which will make achieving your future goals as easy as possible.
1) Finances
Let's get this one out of the way. Regardless of what you are going to be doing in the future, saving money now will always help you out. See my article on 'Easy Budgeting Tips and Tricks' for advice on how to invest, in a simple and straightforward manner. It is important to plan a financial goal on a small scale, so that you don't end up too stressed out by the process. Plan to save a certain amount each week, and decide what amount YOU need to reach to be able to consider yourself financially stable.
2) Knowledge and Skills
Educating yourself and adding to your practical skill set is always beneficial. Aim to learn something new every few months or so, as any experience is better than none at all. It does not matter how slowly you go at this point. Learn a new language, an instrument, update your knowledge of a certain culture or country, or build upon aspects that will be useful for future jobs. It doesn't matter what you learn, what matters is that you ARE learning and improving yourself. It doesn't have to cost you tuition fees; you can learn through the internet, videos, books, or by simple exploration. There are no limits.
3) Strategies
People are bought up from an early age to decide upon one career path. We are asked in schools what we want to be when we are older, given the choice of one Major college course, told to work to our strengths and apply for jobs which suit us. However, there is no reason why you cannot research as many alternate paths as possible. Find out about as many things that interest you as you possibly can, and try to gain some experience with them. Maybe you will discover passions you never knew you had, or maybe you will decide that you don't enjoy a certain thing after all - that's okay, you still learnt something. When combined with skills and knowledge, understanding different fields of work can put you at a huge advantage to people who are one-trick ponies. If one thing doesn't work out, you will always have back up plans.
4) Relationships
Not every future investment has to be about cold, hard cash. Making friends and helping others can be it's own reward! Having great people skills and a vast sea of friends will ensure you never get lonely, and you will learn so much from interacting with people who you consider to be completely different from you. Stay close to your family, make plenty of plans with those you enjoy spending time with, and reconnect with old friends from the past. It is much better to go through life with the support of others, than alone. Encouragement, friendships, and healthy relationships can have a huge impact on your motivation, as well as your physical and mental health.
5) Vision
Whilst exploring different possibilities, meeting new people, and learning about all kinds of fields is a great way to build yourself up, visualizing what you actually want in your future is an important step. This does not mean you have to stick to one idea, you could have many alternatives and many paths. Record all your ideas on paper, and choose which to pursue first, with plenty of back up plans. Mix and match, add to the list, and change and alter it however you like, as you discover new and wonderful things about yourself.
These steps should help you in your path to a bright future. However, the most important thing is that you do not forget to enjoy the present. Rather than stressing, make the most of each and every day, knowing that if you continue to grow and improve at your own pace, you will naturally begin to set up a stable foundation, for your future self to continue to grow and improve, when their time arrives.
Regardless of whether you are excitedly anticipating the future, or anxiously dreading it, one thing is for sure - it is going to happen. Whilst many things are beyond our control, there are plenty of actions that we can take now, to help set ourselves up for a bright and successful life. Here is a quick guide I've written based off my own personal experiences. It doesn't matter how old you are, or what your plans may involve, there are simple steps you can take to build the foundations of a stable life in the present, which will make achieving your future goals as easy as possible.
1) Finances
Let's get this one out of the way. Regardless of what you are going to be doing in the future, saving money now will always help you out. See my article on 'Easy Budgeting Tips and Tricks' for advice on how to invest, in a simple and straightforward manner. It is important to plan a financial goal on a small scale, so that you don't end up too stressed out by the process. Plan to save a certain amount each week, and decide what amount YOU need to reach to be able to consider yourself financially stable.
2) Knowledge and Skills
Educating yourself and adding to your practical skill set is always beneficial. Aim to learn something new every few months or so, as any experience is better than none at all. It does not matter how slowly you go at this point. Learn a new language, an instrument, update your knowledge of a certain culture or country, or build upon aspects that will be useful for future jobs. It doesn't matter what you learn, what matters is that you ARE learning and improving yourself. It doesn't have to cost you tuition fees; you can learn through the internet, videos, books, or by simple exploration. There are no limits.
3) Strategies
People are bought up from an early age to decide upon one career path. We are asked in schools what we want to be when we are older, given the choice of one Major college course, told to work to our strengths and apply for jobs which suit us. However, there is no reason why you cannot research as many alternate paths as possible. Find out about as many things that interest you as you possibly can, and try to gain some experience with them. Maybe you will discover passions you never knew you had, or maybe you will decide that you don't enjoy a certain thing after all - that's okay, you still learnt something. When combined with skills and knowledge, understanding different fields of work can put you at a huge advantage to people who are one-trick ponies. If one thing doesn't work out, you will always have back up plans.
4) Relationships
Not every future investment has to be about cold, hard cash. Making friends and helping others can be it's own reward! Having great people skills and a vast sea of friends will ensure you never get lonely, and you will learn so much from interacting with people who you consider to be completely different from you. Stay close to your family, make plenty of plans with those you enjoy spending time with, and reconnect with old friends from the past. It is much better to go through life with the support of others, than alone. Encouragement, friendships, and healthy relationships can have a huge impact on your motivation, as well as your physical and mental health.
5) Vision
Whilst exploring different possibilities, meeting new people, and learning about all kinds of fields is a great way to build yourself up, visualizing what you actually want in your future is an important step. This does not mean you have to stick to one idea, you could have many alternatives and many paths. Record all your ideas on paper, and choose which to pursue first, with plenty of back up plans. Mix and match, add to the list, and change and alter it however you like, as you discover new and wonderful things about yourself.
These steps should help you in your path to a bright future. However, the most important thing is that you do not forget to enjoy the present. Rather than stressing, make the most of each and every day, knowing that if you continue to grow and improve at your own pace, you will naturally begin to set up a stable foundation, for your future self to continue to grow and improve, when their time arrives.
Shavkat › Nice one
