To help get you ready for change, let’s look at Benjamin Franklin's three principles of success. The first principle “happiness doesn’t come from big successes, but from everyday achievements.” The second principle is that our life be shaped as we wish, he said “plastic is malleable – and so is life”. If you really do want to shape your life, you must set a goal upon which you focus all your efforts. The third principle is perhaps the most important: “success is a pleasure,” and so is the journey to achieving it.
Another key point to keep in mind when initiating this process of change is that failing to fully exploit our potential risks damaging the way we think and, consequently, act. Doing less than what you are capable of causes a dramatic drop in self-esteem, and, in the long run, completely resets it, thus plunging you into a vicious cycle of inaction. So, try to always aim to do your best; when you allow positive ambition to fuel your actions, you will be able to achieve increasingly challenging goals.
There are two types of goals: short-term and long-term. You can think of long-term goals as a kind of long journey: when you finally reach your destination you will no longer be the same person you were at the start. To define your long-term goals, make sure you ask yourself the right questions, and understand what you want to do, who you want to be, what you want from life, and where you want to go. The second step is to make a list with all these answers, and try to distinguish between real aspirations and frivolous pipe dreams. Finally, you have to choose a set of goals: 4 annual ones, 4 three-year ones, 4 five-year ones and 4 ten-year goals, and look at them in detail so that reading your list of goals can inspire and motivate you, especially when an unexpected event throws you off course. When you define your goals, be careful not to choose ones that are too easy, otherwise there will be no opportunities for growth, and don’t compromise, meaning do not betray your values.
