Life Outcomes

Purpose: As you progress in career development and advance toward graduation you may become much more focused on where your life experience is taking you. Some students become overly-focused on the need to know every step to reach generalized life goals without understanding the process and associated outcomes of those goals. This activity is designed to help alleviate some of that stress related to traditional goals.

As a result of this activity you will be able to:

• Articulate life outcomes in terms of the impact of attaining goals.
• Define areas of importance for outcomes in your life.
• Discuss the difference between an outcome and a goal.
• Alleviate some of the stress that comes from a goal-driven perspective.

Process:

1. Identify factors that are important to you in life. Create statements that describe how your career will interact with these factors. Some examples of statements:

   • I want to be “comfortable” financially.
   • I want to have significant personal relationships.
   • I want to travel extensively.
   • I want to have opportunities to advance my talent, hobby or recreational activities.
   • I want to continue learning.
   • I want to be happy.
2. Choose a significant “life goal” or desire from your list.

3. Use this statement to explore what attaining the goal may mean for your life and how you may alter and change your desired outcomes over time.

   1. Elaborate on the statement providing more detail about what life will be like when you acheive it.
   2. Describe why this goal and the resulting conditions are important to you.
   3. Write about what you are doing now to attain your desired outcomes and future conditions.
   4. Explain how your goals may change over time as you gain more experience and find new opportunities.

Example:

I want to be “comfortable” financially.

• What does comfortable mean?
• Why is this important? (I want to be able to give my children tuition)
• What salary do you feel you will need (today’s level)?
• What are you willing to do to get there?
• Outline how your current plan serves or does not serve the goal.
• Write outcome statements that offer you direction and measureable results. (savings goals, pursuit of alternative incomes, and long-term financial planning could be additional outcomes).