One afternoon, when I was in school, I remember, I was wondering looking at my teacher, how amazing it would be to be all grown up and have that feeling of knowing it all. Little did I know, that I was wrong. I always thought as a child, that growing up would come with absolute clarity as to what I wanted to do in life and what will be my dream.
When I started thinking, about what I should write in this blog, I almost had a panic attack, because ‘dream’ being such a strong word, made me question every single thing that I have ever wanted to do. I’ve questioned if what I have, qualifies as a dream, but I’ve realized that perfection isn’t necessary to define it. Dreams require dedication, growth, and relentless effort. Every day, I work on improving myself through various pursuits. My future path is my unmistakable “vision.”
So, I think it is safe for me to say, that my dream is to become financially independent. I truly understand that it is a big dream that requires a lot of short-term goals to be achieved first to reach the final destination of financial independence. So, as of now, these short-term goals that will lead me to my dream are also miniature dreams for me because I currently have to work on them to reach where I want to be.
Another goal/dream that I have is to have enough knowledge and be informed about almost a lot of things so that I have an opinion and a point of view of my own for everything. I want to be able to make choices according to my knowledge, priorities, preferences, understanding, and beliefs, and not because everyone says this, so I want to believe this.
I see myself defending my opinions and choices and standing by them with an appropriate reason.
So basically, to jot down in simple terms, the basic goals I have are-
- To be financially independent
- Be informed and educated enough to have my own opinions
Now everything in this world should be backed up by a reason. There has to be a reason for why I want what I want.
The simple reason why I want to be financially independent is to have the taste of that freedom and flexibility and to make choices that align well with my preferences. I believe that there is reduced stress when you are independent in any form. There is security and a sense of validation as well.
Now why do I want to have my opinions sorted? To avoid regrets. Whatever I do, whatever I decide is what I want to do. And therefore, there is no one to blame. I can do whatever I believe in, even if things go wrong, I don’t have anyone to blame.
I don’t want to rush things because I understand that for me to be successful, I need to start with baby steps.
Making a to-do list for every single day is something most of us have done since childhood. But making a to-do list for your dreams/ life goals is something new. There are a lot of things that I want to do and I am doing to get closer to my goals.
My first goal, which says whatever I may do in life, a job or a business or anything, the goal is to be able to manage and bear my expenses. The things that I have to do is-
- The first step, is to engage in something that leads me to opportunities to earning
- Become more mindful and accountable of my expenses
- Increase my knowledge of finances
I enrolled myself in a college program to gather knowledge and therefore grab an opportunity that helps in earning, which is something I am already on. So, studying and trying to get a decent job is something I have already started doing and I am working on it.
If I talk about my other goal, which is about forming informed opinions and being able to defend them and stand by them, these require a lot of things to be done-
- Increasing knowledge by reading a newspaper
- Listening to podcasts
- Reducing phone consumption
- Gathering more knowledge requires more energy, and hence moving to a healthier lifestyle with a better sleep schedule and healthy eating habits
- Being a good listener to know others’ point of view
- Enhancing analysing skills
- Working on critical thinking
Things I am already working on-
- Reducing my phone consumption by setting timers and time limits on applications
- Listening to podcasts on my way back home from college
- Avoiding junk and working out at least half an hour a day
I would conclude this by saying that every change takes time and rushing is never a solution. I am patient and I want to work on every single goal of mine by taking baby steps to reach there, a little slow, but when I do, I want to make sure that there is no looking back.
- SIMRAN GARG
Jaipuria Talks Blog 