For your journal, think about the future and let's brainstorm. Ideally, where would you like to be five, ten, twenty years from now? What type of lifestyle do you envision? Write all your ideas down. These are your long-term goals. Next, break your long-term goals down into manageable steps so that you can see what you need to do now to set yourself up for the success you expect for the future. Each time you reach one of your short term goals, it is important to go back to your journal, cross it off your list, and add new goals. As time passes and you experience new and different situations in your life, you may find that both your long-term and short-term goals may change. This is to be expected. Putting your goals in writing helps you become more focused. It doesn't mean that your life path is set in stone and it changes nothing unless you take the initiative to make reaching your goals and directing your life a priority.