Life Goals

I've recently laid out my life goals and a road map on how I plan to get there. In the interest of keeping my journey all in one place, I present to you:

The Life Road Map of Lichen
I started my roadmap by doing two exercises I read about over at Frugalwoods: Write your current bio and your dream bio. The idea is that you contrast the two and see how far you are from your dream bio. I was actually a bit relieved -- I'm pretty far away from the dream, but my current bio showed me I have been taking some steps and building the framework necessary to get to the dream. In other words -- not at my destination but definitely on the path. 

In determining this the next choice was obvious: Use the knowledge gained from the Frugalwoods exercise to craft three overriding life goals. What are the three things most important to achieve in order to get to that dream bio? The results follow.

Life Goal #1: Live where I love
This goal includes the following "parts"-

• Ocean AND woods
• Small urban area accessible
• PNW
• Small, low maintenance home on land or near a major public trail system.

Life Goal #2: Become a scientist
The parts of this goal include-

• Get my master's degree
• Find work that combines field and lab time
• Make a contribution to science

Life goal #3: Spend a life in nature
And the parts of this one-

• Improve my health/fitness level 
• Know a patch of terrain intimately
• Spend 70% of my life immersed in the outdoors

Bonus points: The first and third goal align with my wife's life goals, and the second one is not at odds with any of her goals. As a couple, this is a wonderful place to be, since it allows us both to develop to our desired potential.

Short term plans:

My goal mapping actually goes a step further, with short, medium, and long term action items. Naturally, these items are subject to change because life happens. But currently, here are my short term action items that help me work toward the above goals:

•   Achieve a 20% savings rate and fully fund investments. All goals are easier to achieve once the pursuit of money is removed from the equation. 
• Maintain GPA and become transfer eligible to my desired university in my target area.
• Lose the excess 40 lbs I am carrying around for no good reason except a love of cheese.
• Increase fitness level with a daily yoga/strength routine and weekly hiking outing.
• Secure an additional $10k in scholarship and grant funding. 
•  Prepare the house to sell/rent and research the pros/cons of each option. 

I have determined that the above goals will take between 12 and 24 months to achieve, as long as I stay focused and work on them regularly. Once they are achieved, some of the midterm goals will take their place.
I'll be honest, to finally have a plan and to be embarking on this journey is very exciting for me!