As you move forward in your career, you may have your sights set on a new project, a promotion, or a more challenging position.  You may be driven by an increase in responsibility, people management, or compensation, a more impressive title, an advanced educational credential, or all of the above.

In our goal-oriented society, setting an objective to work toward is often a powerful motivator that drives professional and personal progress.  However, studies have shown that when we achieve the objectives towards which we have been striving, often the feeling of satisfaction that they bring wears off quickly.

One way to combat this diminished feeling of satisfaction is to plan your career backwards.

In other words, contemplate your legacy instead of your accomplishments.

Sit with that for a minute.  How does it make you feel?

Ask yourself the following questions as if you were looking back on your life:

• How did I spend my time that was meaningful for myself and others, that was aligned with my personal values, and that felt fulfilling, possibly even joyful at times?
• Where was I when I was doing these things?
• What impact did I make in others’ lives?
• And perhaps the most important question of all: how am I remembered in terms of my personal qualities? What did people say about me at my funeral?

Your accomplishments—the truly meaningful, substantial and satisfactory accomplishments—will result when you have alignment with the responses to these questions and the choices that you make every day.