Write a career plan

Haven't achieved all your career goals? Let this be the time you make a breakthrough with a proactive career plan.

Are you fulfilling your potential? Does your job really stretch you? Are you in a job that makes the most of your interests?

If the answer to any of these questions is 'no', then now is the time to make changes happen. Your ticket to success? A well thought-out personal career plan.

Getting the picture
A tangible, inspiring career goal is an affirmation of your desire to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone and into a new place. But it can sometimes be very difficult to identify a career path that will fulfil your needs.

The trick is to make a clear mental picture of where you would like to be one, two or three years from now. Imagine yourself being and doing whatever you want to achieve in your career. Can you see a wonderful new job? Are you gaining new skills? Is this the lifestyle you always dreamed of?

Make the image as stimulating as possible by including colours, sounds and textures. Make it three dimensional, so you can step inside and feel what it's like to achieve the success you desire. Where are you? What are you doing and saying? How are others reacting to you? Feel calm, comfortable, courageous and confident.

This technique works best if you are relaxed and can really put your imagination to work. You'll be amazed at the quality of images and feelings your brain can conjure up if you let go. It's best to replay your mental video several times to make a real difference to how motivated you feel.

Make sure that your goal is realistic, and avoid setting yourself up for failure by choosing an inappropriate goal - one that is either too idealistic or too limiting.

One step at a time
Once you have clear picture of where you are going, the next task is to replay your mental video and consider everything you will have done to arrive there. Your goal itself may seem quite ambitious, but the small steps you must take to achieve it are not nearly as daunting.

Your plan
Making your plan is simply a question of writing down:

A clear and specific goal The main things you need to do in order to achieve it The money, time, and information you will need at each step Who can help in terms of support and encouragement

It's also useful to think about the things that might sabotage your plan. You might put others' needs before your own, fail to prepare yourself properly, or get distracted. Other people could discourage you. You need to be ready to counteract this sabotage when it arises.

Use your diary to plan your weekly and daily actions. Some of them will take five minutes, some an hour and some much longer – so you will need to manage your time carefully.

If things go wrong
However clear your goal or detailed your plans, there are always factors outside your control that may cause failure. And we all make mistakes - no one is perfect!

Remember that successful people are not those who have never failed. They are the ones who know how to turn failure into a positive experience – a learning opportunity. They are determined to overcome setbacks and, in doing so, develop the skills to overcome other things in their way.

If you have a healthy attitude to failure you won't say: 'I'm no good at anything, so I might as well give up.' You'll say instead: 'I'll work out what went wrong and I won't make the same mistake next time.' Rather than think: 'I've failed at this like I fail at everything,' you'll say: 'Although it didn't all go right, I did some things well.'

Create your own future
Planning is probably the most powerful technique you can adopt to get what you want in life. It's used by sports people, politicians, entertainers and self-made millionaires all over the world. How do you think they learned to believe in themselves and to be so confident? Many of them have no more natural talent than you or I – the difference is that they drive themselves on towards clear goals and are never put off by mistakes or failure.

Success is not an accident: the best way to be sure of achieving the career you want is to create it yourself.

Make sure to check out the rest of handbag.com's Ultimate Career Guide for more tips and your chance to win our Female Entrepreneur Award

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