I recently started listening to the podcast The Science of Happiness. In a particular episode Finding Your Best Self , the exercise that’s introduced is to journal for two weeks for just twenty minutes each day about your goals for the future.

After listening to this podcast I really began to think about what I want to have accomplished in five years when I reach the ripe ol’ age of twenty-five. And my list shocked me because it felt.. shallow. So I pushed myself further; I told myself that nothing was too big or too hard for this list. And I came out with some pretty doable, yet bold goals.

These goals are going to need hard work. Some days they’re going to feel like the last thing on my to-do list, but I know that in order to accomplish what I want to accomplish it’s gonna take a whole lot of grit.

I also had to make an effort to stay mindful that my journey isn’t someone else’s. Success for me might not look like the success of someone else. And I’ve realized that has to be okay.

We often get into this comparison trap where we see the people around us living these really cool lives while accomplishing so much, and we start to feel like what we’re doing isn’t near as impressive or interesting. But that’s not true! Achieved goals are achieved goals, no matter how big or small!

But it’s impossible to achieve goals if you never set them.