Shaping the imagination — A profound journey from dreams, desires, and abstract resolutions to goals setting, and getting things done
By: Aamir Khan Maarofi
Tags: Passion, Smart, Dreams Come True, Goals, Goal Setting

I would like you to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and think about your dreams. You will see that dreams and desires are mere thought-processes and imaginations, projected to you by your mind in different ways. And wishful thoughts have no actionable plan for implementation, a fixed deadline to meet, or a tracking system to check-in the progress. By now you might be wondering about how to make your dreams true and how to convert those thoughts into reality? The answer can be found in Napoleon Hills’ best selling book, named “Think and Grow Rich”. Where he states;

The intangible impulses of thoughts can be transmuted into their physical counterparts by the application of known principles.

We make resolutions for the new year and we are so motivated and energetic to achieve them, we also put in hard-work but hardly keep them past one month. Or we desire to be better, wish to learn more and to grow, dream about being the best version of ourselves but do not get anywhere. This is because we fail to identify the fine thin line that distinguishes between dreams and goals. Dreams, passion, and desires are abstract, they can be achieved by dividing them into measurable and realistic segments (called goals). If you are not able to achieve your dreams it means you’re not able to achieve goals relevant to the dream. To make your goals achievable, you must explicitly state your goal, the motivation and purpose behind it, and the end objective of the goal. You must also define a systemize formula that will track your progress throughout the journey, to keep you aligned with your action plan and help you achieve the goals by a fixed deadline. These known principles add exceptionally significant power to achieve your goals and pursue your passion.

If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes — Andrew Carnegie

As they say “The most legitimate experience to be shared is the personal experience”, I would like to share my experience; Like every student at university, I was struggling with my Final Year Project and for the last four months I did not make any significant progress. It was because I failed to explicitly specify what exactly do I want to work on? What is the measure that will track my performance? What is the action plan and resources required for this project? Once I discovered the significance of setting realistic goals, I shaped this goal into SMART and chosen three tasks to complete this week. Which were designing the content, making a complete roadmap, and reviewing the roadmap and content to make it better.

Roadmap I created this week, which I will be following for the next three months

I knew about making SMART goals from my second year at university from one of my class presentations, but I recently discovered its true meaning and significance. The tasks I completed this week were tedious and seemed extremely overwhelming before. Though it took me one week to shape the content in form of the mind map, I’m sure it will help me along the journey, as I have got a clear vision of my destination, a deterministic action plan, and a fixed timeframe. By reviewing the work I’ve done so far, checking in the progress, and completing subtasks; I feel the dopamine, celebrate my success, prepare for the next steps, and move forward. And if I ever feel like quitting, I look at the big picture, remind myself of the reason and the purpose which has compelled me to start the goal in the first place.