A life plan is a formal, written plan you can use to plan out areas of your life including career, where you live, who you associate with, and how you spend your time. Writing out a life plan can help you identify areas of your life that you would like to change or to meet certain goals.  A life plan may help you see your life in a different way. Seeing aspects of it on paper may help you prioritize and readjust your ideas. Putting a life plan down on paper may also help you see similar goals and desires you have, or adjust your plan based on things that don’t fit. Having a life plan doesn’t mean you will change all aspects of your life right away, but it is a starting point to begin the process. Maybe there are areas of your life in which you are satisfied, such as where you live, but other areas in which you’d liked to grow, such as finding a more fulfilling career. There may be several areas of your life you’d like to have a plan for, but to start, try picking the one part that is the most important.  Decide on which area of your life you’ll start with, like career, social group, hobbies, or something else. Some examples of life areas you could change include job, education, or income and financial planning; attitude, life perspective, creative, or leisure goals; family and friends; planning for children, securing social support, or volunteering for a meaningful cause; or physical and health goals.  Ask yourself what good things will come from changing this part of your life to become clear on why you are choosing to change. Ask yourself which part of changing will be most difficult for you. Once you know what will be hardest, you can prepare yourself for when you meet that challenge. For example, for some people the most difficult part of change is starting. If you already know this about yourself, you can get support from others to help you begin. Having a support system, or people who can help when you need it, is important when attempting any life change. Part of planning a change is knowing exactly who you will go to for help and support when things get challenging. Tell those closest to you about your life plan and what you’d like to change. Make a list of the people you know you can rely on if you get stuck. Gather as much information as possible about your upcoming changes to your life. Listen to success stories from others, or participate in a group for self-growth and success. Ask others what approaches they used in their life planning and making changes, and ask them what hurdles to expect. For some life plans and changes, you will need resources in order to begin implementing any steps toward your goal. You may need to buy books, set a budget, learn a new skill, or enlist the help of others. You may also have to figure out how to overcome certain obstacles. After you have identified what you need to start, begin creating steps that will lead you to your proposed life plan.  For example, if your life plan includes becoming healthier, the first step might be learning about healthier foods and cooking methods, then resolving to eat one vegetable per day. You’ll want to start slow to build to your goal so that you don’t burn out and become overwhelmed. Another example might be if you want to have a life plan that leads you to a healthier diet. To do this, you will need to identify resources that you will need to get there, such as nutrition books, budgeting for different kinds of groceries, and enlisting the help of your family because a change in groceries will affect them too. Planning out your life is a good way to gain clarity on what you want and how to get it, but often life is unpredictable and does not go according to plan. You need to work on your coping skills so that you can deal with the upset and work back towards your goals.  You can try problem-focused coping. This involves the ability to look at a situation objectively to understand which parts are not working well, and then coming up with a plan to fix it. The process includes knowing your options, gathering information, taking control of the situation, and then implementing a plan of action. For example, if you are working on your life plan of becoming a healthier person, but are then diagnosed with diabetes, you decide to use your problem-focused coping to adapt to the new situation. You learn about diabetes, eating, and testing tools to help you to get back to your life plan. Another type of coping is emotion-focused coping. This is where you deal with the emotional effects of an unplanned life event. For example, being diagnosed with diabetes would certainly cause an emotional reaction, such as fear, frustration, or anger. Dealing with these emotions might include talking with a friend or family member, reducing stress by limiting your obligations, and journaling about your feelings to make more sense of them.
اكتب خطة لحياتك. حدد الجوانب التي تريد تغييرها في حياتك. اجمع الدعم والمعلومات. تعرف على الموارد وضع خطة للخطوات. تأقلم مع الحياة عندما لا تسير في نفسك الاتجاه الذي خططت له.