dragonbook

19 STEP ONE—ESTABLISH SOME LIFETIME GOALS At this point in your life, it’s probably very difficult for you to establish definite lifetime goals. Almost certainly, your college experience will change you, and the goals you set now won’t be the goals you have five years from now. However, it’s important for you even at this stage of the game to have some tentative life goals. They say that those who aim at nothing are certain to hit it, and students who have no idea at all what they want to do in life tend to find college very difficult. Why all this study if it doesn’t lead to anything? It’s certainly worth the effort to form some tentative life-goals at the outset of college, to have firmly in mind a general idea of the kinds of things you at least might want to do with your life. The basic steps are easy. First, write a list of the things you value most. Then, with these values firmly in mind, make a list of things you would like to accomplish during your lifetime. What would you like to achieve in your career? What kind of family situation do you want? What other things do you want to see, do, and experience during your lifetime? What do you want to look back on when you come to the end of your life? Now, of course, lifetime goals can change, and most students change their life goals— often significantly—during their college careers. But if you have something to shoot at, it will help a lot in keeping you motivated through your undergraduate years. The student who says to himself/herself, “I’m probably going to be a teacher” or “I’m headed to law school” has the advantage over a student who has no career goal at all—even if they end up never spending a day in the classroom or the courtroom!