Sophie is deep in thought. She seems a bit troubled, so Themba asks her what is wrong. She is silent for a while and then says “I haven’t really thought about my goals in terms of what I will need to do to achieve them!”

Themba smiles. He has heard this many times before and tells Sophie not to worry, she can start today. Themba asks her what she thinks she needs to do. Sophie starts to make a list.

On her list she writes:

• Look at what I spend my money on
• Decide if I need to spend my money on that
• Research what it costs to get married
• Find out what the cost is to complete my matric part-time
• Find out what it costs to buy a house
• See where I can save more without sacrificing all my children’s fun stuff

Themba is impressed. He tells Sophie she has taken the first step to achieve her goals by listing them and writing down what she needs to achieve them.

As you can see from Sophie’s list, she needs to gather a lot of information in order to plan properly for her goals. It is very important that you know exactly what you need to do to reach your goals. This will make it easier to plan and achieve them.

You also need to reflect on your goals. As your life changes, some goals may not be as important as they used to be. In that case you might need to update them. It is important that you do this often so that your goals remain relevant.

Themba looks at Sophie’s goals again and sees she wants to finish school. He asks her why that is one of her goals. She says that education is important because it could change her life. Themba agrees and asks her about her children and their education and whether she’s thought about it.