MIS 2 (Assignment 1)

"The difference between a successful person and others is
not a lack of strength,
not a lack of knowledge,
but rather a lack of will."
- Anonymous

Granted that I will be a worthy IT professional, ten years from now I will run my own IT Firm that showcase the skills of many IT professionals and we’ll gonna be partners in making large projects for the country and across the nation. Hoooh!!!!!! Wow, very rewarding! “Worthy IT professional”. The term can really paid off the years I’m going to spend in this college.

I was caught in a thought if why is it that there is this word “worthy”. I came to ask myself in silence, why such a “worthy” IT professional? Does it mean that some IT professionals are not worthy to be called IT professionals? Well, I just tried to examine the unnecessary question that pop up my mind.

As we try to see the reality, yes, there are many IT professionals that are not “worthy”. Simply because they never met the standard of this word, of being worthy to be called IT professionals. But why is it that there is a need to categorize those people? What makes a difference? The word “worthy” will sometimes taken for granted. Sometimes we believed that we are worthy because we did it! We believed that we are worthy because people around us believed we are. We believed that we are worthy because we surpass others, we are greater that others. But we never realized that being “worthy” to something means a lot of everything. The very life of a worthy, successful man is sober and dramatic.

When I was a child and people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always had an answer. That answer changed significantly as time went on, that’s the reality I guess, but one thing never did — I always had a plan. May it change or will it stay, planning for our future is very important. One way in which we plan for the future is by setting goals. When you try to look its definition in the dictionary or when browsing through the internet, you will find a lot of definitions of what is a goal. But I like this one from Merriam-Webster Online that defines a goal as “the end toward which effort is directed”, very brief but concise.

What are my strategies to see myself what I wanted ten years from now?

Planning

Many of us people want to experience a much more enriched life than the one that is currently unfulfilling. We are not contented of what we have. We always want to go higher. That is why we don't have to continue with what we have if we really desire to change or alter it. Don't be stuck in doing the same old things which get you the same old things over and over again. It’s redundant and time-consuming.

One way in which we plan for the future is by setting goals. We actually set goals regularly when we plan what we want to accomplish that day, that week, or even that month. Those are usually fairly simple goals, like we clean the house, finish an assignment, do laundry, cooking and etc. We decide what we want to do and then figure out what we need to do to achieve our goal. Then we get into more complicated goals -- our plans for the future.

The career action plan describes steps that we will take to reach our goals. In this case the goal is usually a particular career objective. It can be a particular occupation, a rung on the career ladder, or an earnings level. It's fairly simple to say that in five years we want to be a such and such. Or in two years we want to earn amount of money. It's achieving those goals that aren’t so easy. Of course the actions we take to try to accomplish our goals will play a huge role in whether we reach them. But, the way we formulate our goals is extremely important too. We need to have a criteria inline to achieve our goals.

One question that is often asked, "Can setting a goal make you a success, can it make you a winner, an achiever?" Well, our experience shows that it will help focus you on areas in both your personal and professional life that are important and meaningful, rather than being guided by what other people want you to be, do, or accomplish. Goal setting has made a tremendous difference in my life. They have allowed me to achieve success, and to accomplish what I had previously only dreamed of, or wished for. And, for me, I consider being successful when I reach the objective I set. My goals kept me on track and, in some cases, they gave me hope. They allowed me to see not where I was today, but where I could be in the future. And, yes I faced challenges and obstacles, but I persevered, found ways around these challenges. I was determined. And when you are determined and when you stay focused it is amazing what you achieve.In can order to attain some of my goals meant learning and developing new skills. More importantly, this process has helped me to focus not on what someone else thought I should do or be, but instead, on what I wanted to accomplish with my life.

A goal can be set and achieved in all areas of your life. Goals are not just to be dedicated to work related thoughts or endeavor’s; goals are key to accomplish a new skill, enjoy the finer aspects of a new hobby, the attainment of education in whatever field is of interest, or in renovating a house. The old adage holds true everyday in that if you don't know where you are going any destination will do. By setting a clear and precise goal or objective, you know where you are headed, and in knowing that, you will be more able to avoid going off in the wrong direction, or taking inappropriate action, or expending wasted energy. No matter what success you are looking for, you will always have issues to overcome, but if you have a strong desire you will find a way. Setting a goal in your life can help you achieve all that you dream of. Take your dreams and turn them into a goal, push through the obstacles, persist, and achieve what you are dreaming of.
But, just setting a goal without knowing how to overcome procrastination won't work. Neither will goals without knowing and learning how to achieve goals. Moving on with life means that you have chosen to close a door behind you in order to open a new door in front of you. Byron Pulsifer

Recipe for Success

A phrase for a recipe for success goes like this:
"Goals turned into action plans with time frames can bring you success."

Recipe for Success:

- Add what you want ( your goal)
- Measure correctly (be specific with your goal, make sure it is measurable)
- Mix in an action plan ( how you are going to get it)
- Combine time frames (when will each action plan be complete)

Put the ingredients in step by step. Keep stirring until you can see results - translated - do a little bit every day.

Don't be discouraged if it doesn't cook through first time around - translated - we sometimes hit obstacles and roadblocks, find a way around them.

Once completed take time to celebrate each action step.

Enjoy, your goal is achieved. Set another.

Now to get into the mixture in the success elements of goal setting.

Important distinction between a goal and an action plan. Simply put, a “goal” tells you

WHAT you want ;
and,
an “action plan” tells you
HOW you are going to get it.

To quote Bette Davis, "Success only breeds a new goal. The golden apple devoured has seeds. It is endless."

Goals will help you to use your time both efficiently and effectively. People without goals usually accomplish much less than they are capable of achieving. Its not saying that they have no accomplishments. However, if they had set goals, they could have accomplished a lot more. They could have attained what they currently have with fewer detours, false starts, misdirected motion, wasted resources, and a lot faster.

Goals Need Action

Without a goal setting strategy, or series of actions, that you are going to use to work towards the goal, whether or not you achieve the goal you have set is just a matter of blind chance. And blind chance is no way to run a successful business! To be successful, you need to make things happen, not just let things happen.

Goal + Action = Success

Other people suggest you should categorize goals for all areas of your life: for example, career, family, financial, leisure, educational. You then set goals for each category. I would caution you in using this method initially because it may result in setting so many goals that you find yourself becoming overwhelmed. Other people suggest picturing how you want your life to look in 10 years, and then set your goals accordingly. This method can work as long as you break the long term goals into a series of smaller ones.

While all of these suggestions have merit, you must be careful not to set goals that are too numerous, or too complex, so that you become overwhelmed, and end up accomplishing none of them. Like anything else you learn to do, start by keeping it straight forward and simple. As you learn by achieving actual results, you can expand the number of goals, the complexity, the time frames, and your horizons.

The best way I have found to determine my goals is to ask myself a couple of very simple questions. The first and most obvious question is, “what do I want?".

Sources/Reference:

http://www.goal4success.com/goal-now/index.html
http://www.goal4success.com/
http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html
http://careerplanning.about.com/od/settinggoals/a/goal_setting.htm
http://www.goal4success.com/success-elements/index.html