Many people have only a vague sense of what they want from life. In this first step, your task is to starting converting ideas like "happiness" or "security" into things you would like to do.  Get a pen and some paper and start writing down things that are important to you in life. It's okay to be general at this stage, but try not to be vague. For example, if the first thing that pops into your head is "happiness," that's fine. But try to define that term. What does "happiness" mean to you? What would you consider a happy life? One good way to start moving from general to specific is to do some free-writing about yourself. Think about your personality and your interests. This can help you define what is most important to you.  Try writing about how you enjoy spending your time. Begin your brainstorm by writing down what you enjoy doing and what excites you.  Don't limit yourself to activities or experiences that you think are productive or "worth doing." The point of a brainstorm is to get down as many ideas as possible, and this list will be useful later on in the process. Write about things you are interested in and/or would like to learn more about. Are you interested in science? In literature? In music? Any of these could become lifelong pursuits. Write about things about yourself you'd like to improve. Are you hoping to develop your skills as a public speaker? As a writer? As a photographer? Again, these can all become life-long pursuits. Think about your ideal future. What does it look like? Ask yourself questions that will help you get to a detailed picture. For example, imagine you are trying to decide on a long-term career. Here are some questions you might ask:  What time do you want to wake up every morning? Where do you want to live? The city? A rural area? A foreign country? Who will be there when you wake up? Is it important to you to have a family? If so, a job that requires a lot of long trips out of town might not be the best choice. How much money do you want to make? The answers to these questions may not be enough to point you toward a single dream job, by they can certainly help you rule some out. After all this brainstorming, you should have some ideas about what you'd like to do with your life. In fact, you probably have several! Now is the time to make them as specific as possible.  For example, you may at this point have the idea that you might want to become a scientist. That's a good start. But now, think about what type of scientist you'd like to be. Do you want to be a chemist? A physicist? An astronomer? Be as specific as you can. Imagine you've decided becoming a chemist might be the right path for you. Now, ask yourself what type of work you'd like to do within that field. Do you want to work for a private company, developing new products? Do you want to teach chemistry at a university? By now, you probably have a few strong contenders for life goals. Examine each one and ask yourself: "why do I want that?" Your answers may lead you to revise your goals. In general, setting goals that are meaningful to you because they relate to your personal values will make you more likely to succeed at reaching them. For example, let's say you've decided to put "become a surgeon" on the list. You ask yourself why, and determine that it's because surgeons make a lot of money and are well respected. Those are valid reasons. But, if you discover that those are the only reasons, you might want to consider other careers that could provide the same benefits. Becoming a surgeon requires a lot of education. It can require keeping very unusual hours. If these things are less appealing, consider other goals that might achieve the same benefits of wealth and respect.
فكر فيما تريده. اكتب عن نفسك. تخيل مستقبلك. اجعل أهدافك محددة. فكر في السبب.