You Gotta Have a Plan

This is one statement I agree with wholeheartedly - though only to an extent. I'd never plan my whole life out; everyone should keep some element of surprise and willingness to try something they'd never thought of, but if you want to achieve something, you need a plan.

Plans are great. Some people think they're weird, or constricting, but believe me, plans are great. You have to know where to start to achieve a goal, or else it'll never get done. It's like splitting a huge task into little, achievable chunks.

Think about the new year's resolutions you made at the end of 2014 for 2015. Did you stick to any of them? Or were some of them too big to achieve?

If you want to do something, think of where you want to start. If you don't know where that is, work backwards: say you want a certain career, think of what qualifications you might need to do that career. Think of where you'll get those qualifications, how you'll get there, and what you need to do between now and then. Your plan will be to follow those steps.

I know far too many people who are rolling around to the point where they need to make important decisions, but they don't even know where to begin. They haven't thought far enough ahead to figure out where they want to be, let alone how to get there. They end up rushing into decisions they aren't ready for, or missing opportunities they should have taken open-handed. Get a plan, and don't do the same.

P.S. Comment if you get the Roswell reference ;)