Information Related to "Just for Youth - Planning for Life: Developing a Plan"
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Planning for Life
Get a Plan
"People who want milk should not seat
themselves on a stool in the middle of a field in hopes that the cow will back up
to them."
by Ken Treybig
Where
will you be a year from now? What about two years? What will you be doing? Will you
be in high school? Will you be at a college or university by then?
What about in 10 years? What do you want to be doing? How much thought have you given
to planning your career?
If you will be working by then, what kind of job do you envision? Do you see yourself
working for minimum wage in the fast-food industry? Or do you want to do something
more meaningful, challenging and fulfilling?
It's natural to assume that the best will happen to us. We like to think that, when
it comes our time to get a job, whatever we find ourselves doing will be interesting
and productive and give us a satisfying sense of accomplishment. We like to believe
we'll have an appreciative boss or that perhaps we'll be our own boss and that our
work environment will be one of our own making.
Who's in charge?
But things don't normally turn out that way. Most people drift from year to
year. Some have goals and work toward them. But, more often than not, people tend
to float along, allowing the currents of life to push them in one direction and then
the other. Like a leaf bobbing along in a swiftly moving stream, they allow themselves
to be at the mercy of outside forces.
It's true that life throws us curves. External forces converge on us, pushing us
one direction or the other. At times life demands that we make choices about our
future, and sometimes it seems as if we are limited in our options. But we do
have choices.
A leaf carried along on a stream has no choice. It will go where the currents carry
it. But God gave us minds and the ability to make choices. In fact, He tells us we
must make choices (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Years ago I read a book titled If You Don't Know Where You're Going, You'll Probably
End Up Somewhere Else. It makes such a simple yet profound statement.
To this day I think of that title often, especially when I read scriptures such as
Proverbs 22:3 that address the importance of looking ahead and watching where you're
going. That verse tells us that "a prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
but the simple pass on and are punished."
Only by looking beyond your next step can you keep from being washed along by the
currents of life. By looking farther ahead you greatly improve your chances of steering
away from some of the troubles that could be waiting for you.To improve your ability
to look ahead in the road of life and prepare yourself, you'll have to do some thinking
and dreaming about the future.
Unlocking the gates
If you Don't Know Where You're Going talks about the inevitable fact that
we come to forks in the road where we must make choices. The forks are like gates.
Unless you have the skills, education and developed abilities you need to unlock
the gates, you'll be forced to go in a less-desirable direction. Even if you'd really
like to explore what lies along the path beyond a particular gate, you might find
yourself locked out.
The author's point is that each of us needs to accumulate and cultivate the personal
assets that will allow us to open gates when we come to them. Those assets take the
form of education and experience combined with skills and aptitudes. As a minimum
you need to know what your assets are, what you can do well or have the best possibility
of doing well.
Whether you can choose certain paths will depend for the most part on you and your
choices. It will depend on whether you have the required personal assets. That means
you must take the initiative to discover and develop them. As the book concludes:
"People who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of
a field in hopes that the cow will back up to them." Each person needs to take
the initiative to improve his chances for success in life. That's why planning is
so important.
Planning or dreaming?
Such planning goes beyond simply dreaming. Dreaming about success is a start, but
it does little to bring your dream to reality. It doesn't develop any assets that
will help you unlock gates when you're faced with choices.
The critical difference between dreaming and planning is that planning takes you
beyond the dream. It involves working toward a means of making the dream reality.
For example, a young person interested in aviation can dream about flying. He can
imagine what it would be like to soar likea bird above the clouds. He can dream of
how it would feel to have the freedom to go in any direction. But his dreams will
never become reality unless he takes steps to make them come true.
It takes effort to move a dream into the category of a plan. Such a plan calls for
research followed by thoughtful action.
It involves finding and talking to people in the aviation field. It requires finding
what steps need to be taken and how to obtain money for flying lessons or to attend
a school of aeronautics.
It's work, but it's worth it
Make no mistake. It takes work to properly prepare yourself. That's one reason so
many people find it easier to dream than to create and develop a plan for life.
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aspect of life. |
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Origin of article "Just for Youth - Planning for Life: Developing a Plan"
Keywords: choices teens and career goal setting
Goal setting: