There is more to success than money, titles, and degrees. Mapping out every facet of your life is the foundation of successful planning. You must specify the origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route, just like you would on a map.
Check in Depth - How To Be Successful in Life
Origin: Who you are
A map starts somewhere. Who you are now is your origin. The majority of people would say, "Hello, I'm Jean, and I'm a 17-year-old senior in high school," when asked to introduce themselves. It simply tells you about Jean's current obsession; it doesn't tell you who she is. In addition to your economic, professional, cultural, and civic position, you should examine your views, values, and principles in order to learn more about yourself. Additionally, by thinking back on your experiences, you can gain a better understanding of your strengths, limitations, abilities, and expertise. After reflecting, Jean found that she was impatient but also very driven, giving, and service-oriented. She had a preference for the biological-medical field. She also thought that human dignity was destroyed by conflict and that existence must have a purpose.
Destination: A vision of who you want to be
This is your vision: "Who do you want to be?" Knowing who you are will help you better understand who you want to be and what you want to change, whether it be your habits, attitudes, or points of view. Your goals and vision for the future would likewise be unclear if you don't know yourself well. The physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual facets of who you are should all be covered by your destination. To continue Jean's story, she determined that she wanted to live a life devoted to helping other people after defining her values, beliefs, and life principles.
Vehicle: Your Mission
You can go to your location by using a vehicle. It is comparable to your life's purpose or calling. What you know about yourself would determine your objective to a large degree. Jean concluded that she wanted to become a doctor and that she was qualified to do so based on her self-evaluation. Her career choice was to become a doctor. Her vision and mission were to serve her fellow humans as a doctor in war regions, to put it simply.
Travel Bag: Your knowledge, skills, and attitude
A bag holds food, beverages, medications, and other essentials for travel. When you apply this idea to your life map, you also bring with you specific attitudes, abilities, and information. These assess your proficiency and assist you in realizing your goals. As a result, you must evaluate your current knowledge, abilities, and attitudes as well as what you still need to learn. This dual evaluation will help you identify your benchmarks or success indicators. Jean understood that in order to become a doctor, she would need to acquire professional medical knowledge and skills. She became aware that she needed to change the fact that she was a little irritated with people.
Landmarks and Route: S.M.A.R.T. objectives
While the route calculates the journey time, landmarks verify that you are headed in the correct direction. Therefore, you also need a path and landmarks while arranging your life. These landmarks serve as your success indicators. These metrics ought to be time-bound, practical, quantifiable, achievable, and specified. Because a master's degree takes at least two years to accomplish, you cannot set two significant milestones, such receiving a master's degree and a PhD in three years. Returning to Jean as an example, she noted the following milestones on her life map: graduating with a bachelor's degree in biology by age 21, becoming a doctor by age 27, becoming an infectious disease specialist by age 30, being deployed to their town's public hospitals by age 32, and working as a doctor in war-torn areas by age 35.
Anticipate Turns, Detours, and Potholes
Your life map is meant to help you avoid making rash or impromptu decisions that could lead you astray. However, because of unforeseen circumstances, delays, and other annoyances, our plans are frequently changed as we go. Turns, detours, and potholes are inevitable on any journey, so we must prepare for them and make the necessary adjustments.
