The goals you never chose
Most people spend more time deciding how to achieve their goals than questioning where those goals came from.
A bigger house, a more senior title, another investment property or a higher income all sound like worthwhile goals.
And sometimes they are.
But over the years, I've noticed that many people spend years pursuing goals they've never really stopped to question.
Not because they truly want them, but because everyone around them seems to want them.
Friends, colleagues, family and social media all shape our idea of what success should look like.
The challenge is that it's surprisingly easy to inherit someone else's definition of success without realising it.
And if you're pursuing goals that were never really yours, it doesn't matter how quickly you achieve them.
You can still end up somewhere you never wanted to be.
One of the most important questions in financial planning isn't:
"How do I get more?"
It's:
"What am I actually trying to build?"
Because once you're clear on that, many decisions become easier.
The right home.
The right level of wealth.
The right balance between work and life.
The right pace.
Not because there's a single correct answer.
But because you're working towards your own definition of success, rather than somebody else's.