Life Goals

The other day I was thinking goals I had set for myself, such as graduate from university, become a lawyer, get married, buy a home, have children, and get a job that pays well and that I enjoy.  Having done these things (without trying to sound cheeky), where do I go from here? I don't have goals like "write a book", "travel to X number of countries", or "run for political office". I consider these types of life goals to be something different from a bucket list (which by the way, as I've said it before, I dislike the term and concept of a bucket list), rather I think of these types of life goals as something to work towards but then enjoy the benefits of, whereas a bucket list is something you do and then it's done.

Some of the things I've been thinking of just seem superficial and some other things are beyond my control, but what I've settled on for purposes of this post are as follows:

Work on organizing and decorating our home so it will be a comfortable and welcoming place.  And going beyond aesthetics, make our home a place where our boys like to hang out and bring their friends.  We live in a big city so having a refuge is important. Conversely we live in a small neighbourhood where kids should feel comfortable coming in and out.

Keep travel at the top of our priority list. We often just focus on big family trips, but it is also important for Dave and I to go away together, or for one of us to take one or both kids somewhere, or to go alone or with friends.  There is so much to explore and doing trips with different combinations of people will create unique experiences.

Raise our kids to be educated, active, healthy, and happy.  You'd hope if they have the first three, then the fourth one would follow, but it may not be that easy.  We can't control everything, but we can put certain things in place for their success.  If we model life long learning and healthy habits, then hopefully they will pick that up and run with it.

Always consider different career paths.  Not that I plan on changing jobs anytime soon, since I just got here, but rather to be aware of different opportunities and not to get too comfortable in any one spot. You never know when the company you're working for could be sold or shut down, or if your position will be eliminated, so it's a good idea to keep other options in mind.


These aren't the concrete goals like the typically ones I noted above, rather more fluid, but I think it is important to keep something in mind as you go through life rather than saying I've achieved everything and there is nothing left to do.