Everyone has goals or hopes to one day master something new, be it a new language, instrument, or some skill they have always admired. For some people, learning more about ways to be successful in life and reach goals like getting a good job or investing wisely are a huge priority, and a barrier that can be hard to get past alone.
But doing anything on your own can be a huge challenge, and your biggest obstacle is often yourself. Staying diligent and focused, and remaining dedicated when things get tough is the biggest challenge people often face when trying to accomplish something. It is often the biggest factor separating success from failure. So with that idea in mind, I am starting the Improvement Thread.
This thread is for people to list their goals, plan how to achieve them, get advice, find resources, make contacts, and help other people stay on track with their plans while they help you with yours. A big part of accomplishing something is having people who are interested in seeing you succeed pushing you forward and encouraging you. Even if someone has a different goal then you, reminding them about it, offering advice and asking them how they are progressing can do a lot to keep someone working.
So for anyone who has something they would like to do (that they know they can do!) but just hasnt had that drive to start it or see it through, this is a thread to help make it happen. It can be anything you want to accomplish; from getting a better job and making good contacts, to learning to cook, juggle, dance, read more, speak Chinese, workout, learn to code, draw, plan a fundraiser, be a better public speaker, start a business, play a sport or just spend more time outside. Whatever you want to accomplish, this is a thread to work on it with other people and start to make it happen.
So to start out, we need some structure.
To begin, make a list of all of the goals you would like to accomplish. It doesnt matter how many there are, just list everything you want to do. After youre done, choose the two you most want to start on. Ultimately, it’s up to you how many you choose, but choosing two (and three at the most) will help you stay focused, be easier to accomplish, and will help people keep track of how you are doing with your goals and how they can help. Two goals instead of one will also help by allowing you to switch things up when one goal gets tiring or you just need a break. Once youve chosen two from your list, post them up as your goals (feel free to post the list too since it could give other people some good ideas, or you could decide to work on a goal with someone else).
Once thats done, layout out a plan of everything youre going to do to achieve both of those goals. If your goal is something like learning to cook or starting a business, it can be hard to see a clear point to strive for. You could spend your whole life learning to cook! Instead, set a clear task, like Learn to prepare 10 meals in the next 3 months. Thats learning to cook one new good meal about once a week, out of the 21 you eat, and that very doable.
In truth, no matter what your goal is, you should use a method just like that. Set small doable tasks, and create a timeline of how you are going to achieve them overtime. Getting a calendar or a planner (or both) will really help with keeping organized and let you see what youve accomplished, what comes next, and how long you have to do it. If anyone is interested, I can tell you where to get good calendars and planners for cheap. There is a lot more I could add, but to start out, those are some really good steps to take to begin working on things you want to learn or get done.
As you are working on your goal, be sure to keep other people updated on your progress. Writing about what you’ve gotten done and regularly updating about what you plan to do is a great way to stay focused, and will let people know where you are and how they can help out. It can keep other people motivated to keep working on their goals as well. Post up about roadblocks, or ask for ideas on what your next step should be if you get stuck, and be sure to ask for help when you need it. The biggest point of this thread is to eliminate the lack of focus and discouragement that can come from working on a goal alone. The more you post up, the more you will keep yourself on track, encourage others, and help keep people updated so they can be involved in what you are doing.
So thats the thread, and I hope people will be interested in participating. It can be too easy to sit back and do nothing once you get out of school. Once you get out of that environment where you are constantly being pushed and people care about your progress, it can be hard to get it back and stay motivated. The NW is a big community with a lot of people who can give great advice and help rep for each other. This is especially true in the job market which a lot of people are struggling with right now. If you are looking for a job, posting up about the kind of job you are looking for and where you are applying could do a lot towards getting to meet the right people through a friend of a friend. In the same way, posting about what you want to accomplish generally could lead to some great opportunities through knowing the right people.
Hope this can get some people motivated. I will also be starting up nights for people to get together in person and work on things together. Once I get an idea of what night works best for most people, I plan to hold them at the UW library, which is a middle ground for most people to drive to. (unless a better location is suggested). If your interested, be sure to post up a day and time that is good for you.
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