Why is setting goals important?【小题1】Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.

Successful people imagine how their life should be and set lots of goals.By setting goals you are taking control of your life. It’s like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are two drivers. One has a destination in mind which can be found on a map. She can drive straight there surely without any wasted time of wrong turns.【小题2】She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but she drives aimlessly around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas. Which driver do you want to be?、

Winners in life set goals and follow them through. They decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals.【小题3】Goals aren’t difficult to set and they aren’t difficult to reach.【小题4】You are the one who must decide what to achieve and in what direction to aim your life.

Research tells us that when we write a goal down we are more likely to achieve it.【小题5】Like a contract(合同) with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget. Also when you write your goals in a particular way, you are able to make yourself continuously aware of situations that will bring you nearer to your goal.

“I miss you. Let’s meet up soon?” These are the words which appear in my inbox and outbox almost every week. I miss my friends and they miss me. But many of them are dotted (散布于) around the country. I can’t see them as much as I’d like.

I have friends living in Telford, Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Some friends have moved abroad. I’ve also got some wonderful pals in London, where I live now.

But, unlike many of my peers. I don’t have one big group I can meet in one place at a time. It means a large part of my life is spent visiting my friends separately. And if I don’t do it right, it can be bloody exhausting.

Don’t get me wrong. I will always make time for these visits and I never regret them. They are my friends and worth every penny and effort. But life is busy — you have friends, family, a job, a partner, and pets. Each requires their own time slots (时间档) and individual levels of attention. So I’d be a big liar if I didn’t admit I’ve striven to get the balance right over the years. To avoid what I call “long-distance friendship burnout”, I try to arrange one weekend a month to meet a friend. When it comes to playing guest or host, it’s nice to take turns.

I’ve had weekends in the past where I’ve tried to arrange many friend visits in one trip. But that’s exhausting. And I didn’t feel present enough for my friends as I was thinking about what time I had to leave to see the next person, so now it’s all about one friend at a time.

Obviously it means seeing them less often, but at the same time I get to spend more time with them when I do.

Long-distance friendships can be tough. But they are also beautiful and 100% worth all the trouble.