Close your eyes and imagine your life in 5 years. Can you picture the life ahead of you? If you are struggling to put an image of your future together in your head, maybe that’s because you haven’t set your long term goals.

Having a clear idea of what you want your future to look like is the secret to attaining them later on. Many people take the adage “live for the moment” out of context. You can still be in the moment without compromising your future. How? Take the steps below and set out for your goals now!

Simply have no clue? Reflect on a general picture of yourself.

You are not alone. Many people don’t really arrive at what they want to do with their lives even when they have a clear cut plan already for years. Circumstances change and so do goals. Don’t stress so much about having a 10-step plan for your future. You don’t have to have a blueprint right away. You can start with a general idea. Do you want to have a family and kids? Do you want to be a powerful career woman? Do you want both? Take it from industry giant Diane Von Furstenberg: “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew the woman that I wanted to be.”

Celebrate the little things.

Reached a smaller goal? Give yourself a pat in the back, and reward yourself. The key to rewarding yourself for a goal is to firmly remind yourself not to put it to waste. See a future with a banging body? If your small goal is to rid yourself of fast food, don’ indulge on a cheat day when you successfully go through a month without it. Instead, buy yourself a nice dress to show the world your achievement! See a financially stable future for yourself? A year after consistently saving a portion of your paycheck, don’t go on a big vacation. Instead, look up opportunities for investment and ways to grow your money even more.

These steps are not new, but they are often overlooked. With the fast pace life that we career girls take on every day, sometimes it is easy to lose sight of our future.  Starting to envision your future life today, right now, will make a big difference in the years to come. Have you set your goals yet? Share it with us below or tweet us @mscareergirl!