The vastness of the universe is incomprehensible, our planet floating in the universe is mind-blowing and your life on it is the greatest gift given. So live it and see life as an experiment between not being born and death, instead of trying to survive life without too much hassle. Because either way, you’re not going to get out alive.

So, you’re in? Great. But to make this shift in our thinking and stop seeing life as a dress rehearsal you need to define the right goal for you; something you can visualise. Because without it, you’ll just float around and won’t end up anywhere, wasted the greatest gift ever.

I know, defining your goal probably is not something new for you, or maybe you already have one. Great. But in both cases I invite you to define the right goal for you together and find out if life has more in store for you. 

Because many goals are set for movement instead of achievement. And with most of these goals people won’t make it to the finish line. The goal isn’t truly what they want. It’s like during your school period were you had to have goals or else you failed class. But did any of these goals really motivated you, or are they still alive? Probably not!

So how do you define the right goal for you?

The first key step is to find out what’s important for you. Duh. But I’m not talking about the importance of saying thanks when receiving. I’m talking about putting your life in perspective. Because doing so you’ll find out that some factors are more significant than others. It is these thoughts that make clear what values and needs you have. And it’s these values and needs that are the foundation for defining the right goal for you. If your goal is not aligned with your values and needs, it’s most likely you fail in your goal. 

People only tent to put their lives in perspective when the clock strikes 12 o’clock on december 31, or when something tragic happened in their lives. For example when they were in a car crash and then realize a good health is their most important thing. But to wait for such a situation is of course not recommendable. So, put your life in perspective without needing that moment that could also be your last. 

We all have values and needs, but a lot of times when I ask someone they often have no answer, or then start thinking about it. Of course they have values and needs but are not aware of them. 

Time to get aware of your values and needs and I want to help you with this, like the Norwegian mental trainer Erik betrand Larssen helped me. Start by asking yourself the questions below. My advice is to put the answers briefly on paper.

• What kind of person am I? 

Your identity. For example someone who finds freedom very important, or to be developing personal. 

• How does an important person in my life characterizes me? For example your mother, or best friend.

Your answers to these questions contribute to clarifying your values and needs. I cannot stress enough to be honest with your answers. Be who you are and what you want. You won’t get anywhere or stay anywhere if it’s not true what you’re saying.  

Then the mother of all questions to ask yourself:

• When it really matters, what’s the most important thing for me?

The answer on this question we can say are your values. These are so called social enhancers of behaviour and therefore increases the chance that certain behavior will keep coming back. This given will ensure that a goal based on your values has more chance that you will keep going on the pursuit of accomplishing this goal. 

Still with me? Time for the second key step. 

The same we did on your values, we do on your needs: get aware of them. We all have our basic needs such as food, drink, sleep, shelter and warmth. From psychology it is underlined that every person also has some other basic needs that he / she wants to satisfy. Basic needs such as love, be someone / mean something and growth and development. For every person it is necessary that these needs are fulfilled, only the extent to which varies per person. 

When putting your life in perspective you try to figure out which of these needs are the most important for you. Ask yourself the question: 

• What do I need to feel good in my life?

Maybe it’s important for you to be someone who people look up to and to have an positive impact on society. But maybe not. Important is to be honest. If it’s a sh*tload of money you think is important, then it’s a sh*tload of money you go for. 

With this answer, plus your already determined values, we have your framework and a direction. Keep these in mind when we go in to the last part of our journey with my blog: ´Find out if life has more in store for you: define the right goal for you´(part 2)