This week my ten year old son headed off for his week long Year 5/6 school camp. His week will be filled with hiking, canoeing, ropes courses, flying foxes, storytelling, drama and all sorts of fun activities to thrill a ten year olds soul.

For weeks all he could talk about was his upcoming camp. he was packed (mostly) days before he was due to leave. He couldn’t get to school early enough on the day the camp was to begin. His excitement was tangible; you could feel it.

Watching him got me thinking. Short term goals are incredibly motivating. Having something to look forward to generates the energy to sustain many of the more mundane activities of life. For example I have recently launched my first book What Really Matters For Young Professionals! and welcomed my fifth child to our family, another son. Both experiences involved a long build up and great joy was experienced when both our son and my book arrived.

Life is not just about achieving short term goals for the sake of achieving them. Rather, the short term goals should be in the context of a bigger picture. For example, my book is part of my career, business and finance strategies. Clearly my son was about completing my family.

In this context, what are you excited about? How do your short term goals relate to your bigger picture?