If I am going to spend valuable time working at something, I need to know that my efforts will pay off. So I find it motivational to have a plan that balances my dreams and reality; it keeps me going when the going gets tough.

I've always been someone who likes to know where I'm going and how I'm going to get there. People have called me ambitious and driven but I don't really see it like that. I just don't like wasting my efforts on the wrong things.

Pay-offs could be financial (such as a pay rise or winning a contract), intrinsic (the personal satisfaction of a job well done), practical (enjoying greater work-life balance), or external (public recognition or improved reputation).

Please Join Us!What: #MTtalk

Where: Twitter

When: January 6 @ 1 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT / 11.30 p.m. IST)

Topic: What's Your Life Plan? – Balancing Dreams and Reality

Host: @Mind_Tools

Recognizing the specific factors that motivate you could provide useful insight into how you can best balance your dreams and reality, to achieve your own life plan.

By aligning your personal goals and priorities with your life plan, you'll be making sure your dreams are backed up with some tangible actions.

After all, there's little point dreaming about becoming a marathon runner if the reality is you don't prioritize your weekly training plan: Dream – become a super-fit marathon runner. Reality – binge-watching Netflix with a giant tub of popcorn takes priority every time!

Dreams Don't Come True on Their OwnBeing absolutely clear about what your life plan is will provide a solid start. It will probably need to evolve over time and may need to flex as you progress through your career and deal with life's various challenges.

And let's remember that we don't always know precisely what our life plan is, anyway. We may instead have an overall dream rather than a specific plan. Or to put it another way, we may have a vision we are aiming toward rather than a well-defined set of goals.

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes time. Vision with action can change the world."

― Joel A Barker

Creating the Life of Your DreamsOf course, it can be helpful to turn your vision into a set of goals. This will ensure that you base your dreams firmly in reality and will give you clarity on the practical steps you can take to create that life of your dreams. Setting yourself stretching but achievable goals can help you to:

• Be clear about what you need to do – the changes to make and actions to take to ensure you stay on track.
• Prioritize day-to-day or weekly activities by focusing on the most important things.
• Determine what support you need from others to help you put your plan into action.
• Assess your options and choices to help you to make better decisions as time progresses.
• Measure and celebrate your achievements – it's very motivational to see how far you've come.
• Increase your confidence in yourself and build your self-belief – you can do this!

But wait. Highly defined and time-bound goals just don't float everyone's boat. You may well feel that rather than goals motivating you to achieve your dreams, they take all the fun and spontaneity out of them. Then suddenly there's just a bit too much reality and not quite enough dreaming big going on! I can certainly relate and I can feel that all-important motivation slipping away!

What's important is to focus on what you want to achieve and then figure out how to get emotionally connected to it in a way that financially, intrinsically, practically, or externally keeps you motivated until that dream life plan becomes your reality.

About This Week's "What's your Life Plan?" Chat In our upcoming #MTtalk Twitter chat, we're going to talk about the benefits of mapping out your future and how planning can help you get where you want to go in life. Come and join this safe discussion space to share your thoughts and experiences.

In our recent Twitter poll, we wanted to know when people do life planning. Almost 60 percent of participants said they do it regularly and they enjoy it, while 30 percent avoid doing it and go with the flow! (You can see all the options and results here.

We'd love you to participate in the chat, and the following questions may spark some thoughts in preparation for it: 

• Do you need to plan for everything in your life? Doesn't life just run its course?
• Has planning your life or career ever felt like a waste of time, and why or why not?
• Complete the sentence: If you don't have a life plan ___________.
• How can planning your future help you achieve your goals?
• What should you consider before making a "new year's resolution" or setting a goal?
• How will you help your team co-create a successful life plan?
• How will you help yourself (or others) get back on track when life throws you a curve ball?

Life Plan Resources To help you prepare for the chat, we've compiled a list of resources for you to browse. (Note that you will need to be a Mind Tools Club or Corporate member to see all of the resources in full.)

Managing Your Career

SMART Goals

The Wheel of Life

Five Golden Rules for Setting Great New Year Career Goals Infographic

8 Rules for Setting New Year Resolutions Video

Personal Goal Setting

Developing a Career Strategy

How to Take Part in #MTtalkFollow us on Twitter to make sure you don't miss out on any of the action this Friday! We’ll be tweeting out 10 questions during our hour-long chat. To participate in the chat, type #MTtalk in the Twitter search function. Then, click on "Latest" and you'll be able to follow the live chat feed. You can join the chat by using the hashtag #MTtalk in your responses.

The post What's Your Life Plan? Balancing Dreams and Reality – Join Our #MTtalk appeared first on Mind Tools.