The "BEs" of Life Planning - Ten Ideas for Talking About The Future

Moving in the direction of success requires intentional steps for both reflection and planning. Here are some ideas to help with this:

Be aware - Preparation might be needed before planning. Use open ended questions to help determine if someone is ready to move forward. 

Be flexible - Plans change, beliefs develop, circumstances unfold continuously. Adapt then decide what is next. 

Be focused - Take one step at a time, focused on the next step not the whole journey.

Be mindful - Reflect on personal feelings, thoughts and behaviors. What is helpful? What is hurtful?

Be open - Use “I statements” to allow all family members the opportunity to honestly share what’s on their hearts.

Be patient - It takes time to process growing self-awareness AND career awareness. 

Be present - What can I control at this moment? Am I looking too far down the road? Am I stuck in the past?

Be real - Is there an elephant in the room? Allow for dialogue that honors other’s perspectives. This helps to get to the full story.

Be specific - Every person is different. Appreciate the individual skills, strengths and interests of each person in the family. 

Be timely - Set up specific times to talk about life planning. Tie these times together to something fun.