Last week we talked about how having a map is pretty essential when hiking in the wilderness. We also talked about how many of us feel that we don’t really need a map to get through our own lives. Finally, I told you I would talk about some ways to map out your priorities and build this tool for your Earthly travels.

The first thing about mapping a course is understanding that it can have many different outcomes, so you need to know where your destination is. In planning, you need what we call a “vision”. So craft a vision statement for your life. Think about who you are, what you stand for, and what you want to be known for.

Major Objectives, Goals and Tasks

From there, you need to think about a few major objectives in your life;  those will be the big, key steps you need make to lift you to your vision. If you want to be a loving person, who helps others, and makes the world a safer place for people to ride bicycles, than what are a few of the big steps that will get you to be this person. What are some of the general themes in your life? These are objectives you want to accomplish, they should steer you.

Each objective needs goals. The goals can be compared to splits in the trail. They become the place where you decide if you are going to move to the next level. There is an old saying that you should make your goals specific, timely, and measurable. Here is the thing about goals, and we could go on about this topic for months, but it is better to have them and not quite achieve them (but get close), than not have them at all. So don’t beat yourself up if you don’t make your goal, just keep moving in that direction. Less Brown once said “The problem in the world is not that people set huge goals and fail, it is that they set small goals and succeed.” I love that!

Finally each goal needs tasks. That’s what life is, tasks. These are flexible and dynamic, but need to get done. So, the tasks are your to-do list. Many times this list is in our head, and that can be a mistake. It is harder to prioritize when the list is in your head. Have you ever procrastinated? That is because you don’t have your list laid out. When a deadline comes, whether it be taking out the garbage as the truck is pulling up to the curb, or getting a document out by the boss’s deadline, it mandates a priority. People who procrastinate don’t mandate their own priorities so they are constantly reacting. It can work for some people but it is hard to chart your own course.

Figure out your tasks. When I have people work together with this sort of planning, one could literally blindfold the other and give them the tasks to go from point A to point B on stage. That is the power of laying out your tasks and having a step by step process.

Join Me in the Wilderness!

I hope this helps you understand how to map your way through the wilderness of life. These are all concepts that I learned working in strategic planning for institutions and natural resources. I have crafted a system that I use for personal strategic planning. I would be glad to share it with you in more detail. Perhaps you and your friends want to visit me in Northern Wisconsin where we could all take a walk in the woods and lay out a map for your journey through the wilderness. Just let me know. I will be waiting under the third tree from the fork in the trail.

Happy mapping,
Rad