A question I come across a lot in various online self-improvement communities is the classic “Where do I start?” The amount of resources out there can seem overwhelming — self-help books, motivational YouTubers, productivity podcasts, etc.

My answer to the question is pretty simple, and I bet most people would naturally think of it as well. How do you start the process of self-development? You set goals.

For me, this started when I was 15. I was entering my sophomore year of high school, and I felt stuck and needed a plan moving forward. I decided to step back and examine my life in all aspects.

I organized a few broad “pillars” of life, like “health” and “success.” Within these pillars, I identified multiple categories of focus, such as “mental health” within the health pillar. In these categories I laid out goals that would strengthen the category, and for each goal, I identified a few actionable activities to work on. For example, within “mental health,” I defined five goals to strengthen my own mental health: 1) staying positive; 2) having a sense of purpose; 3) being able to stay motivated and be productive when I need to be; 4) keeping my mind healthy; 5) regularly expanding my mind. For goal #5, an actionable activity I identified was to read more.

Having a large-scale plan gives me focus and helps me find actionable activities naturally. Instead of being bored at home with nothing to do, I can always visit my goals and identify an area that I can work on right now. So ask yourself: what areas do you think you could improve in? What areas do you want to improve in? What values, habits, hobbies, and behaviors would the “ideal you” have?

One final thought I want to leave you with is that these goals will likely never all be completed. And you shouldn’t approach them with that intent either. For me, I find satisfaction simply in knowing that I’m working toward being a better person. So view it less as a checklist and more as an ever-evolving roadmap that you’ve created for yourself: the map to a better You.