I couldn’t stop laughing. I stumbled upon a bucket list I made (almost) 10 years ago.
The items on the list are nice, don’t get me wrong. Some examples : travel to South-East Asia, swim faster, find my soulmate and marry her.
I even managed to cross off some of these goals (finding my soulmate turned out to be easier than driving a Lamborghini).
What makes me laugh now is the number of things I thought I could do in one year. 17 goals ! And most of them required a lot of time, money or energy.
I managed to reach less than 5 of them.
Why ?
Too many goals divides your focus.
Warren Buffet has a method : list 25 goals you want to achieve. Then choose the top 5 priority goals. What about the 20 other ones ? Should I try to reach them during my spare time ? Should I seize the moment if an opportunity opens up ?
No (you fool).
“You should avoid them at all costs”, says Warren Buffet (supposedly).
So make your priorities real priorities.
Fewer goals means you have more time, more focus, more energy, more money to pursue what you really value. That’s why you have to dig deep into your values to know what you (really) want to live.
For example. You think you want to be a millionaire.
But you may not want to be a millionaire. You want the freedom that millionaires have. Ask yourself : “What would I do if I had millions?” You could answer : spend more time with my family, get to decide my working hours and live near the ocean.
Good news : you can have this lifestyle without earning millions. These things are your real goals !
So choose your goals carefully.
Look deep into your values.
Select 5 goals (or less).