Pondering With A Purpose

Thanks to Brenda for hosting.  As anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows, I am working at the 2012 PGA Championship this week.  I apologize in advance for any flubs as I am working on about five hours sleep a night after working over 12.  My brain is fuzzy and Brenda is asking us to think.  This should be either good or a disaster.  Let's find out which.  
This week's theme is goals.  I have always been a goals oriented person ever since I was small.  It is actually a bit of a problem that I have right now but I will get back to that in a minute.
I have always felt that it was important to set goals.  They give an individual something to work towards and to strive for.   Goals provide a challenge that allow people to keep moving forward and progressing with their lives. 
My advice about achieving ones goals are to work backwards.  Start with the goal, then look at the path to achieving that goal.  One of the assignments I give to my younger students is to find their dream job.  I then have them look at the job ad and the qualifications for said position.  I then have them build a path to be able to meet those qualifications. While the path may not be 100% clear, it will at least give them some framework to build upon.   
In my case, I reached my largest career goal this year when I was granted my tenure this year.  As a result of this achievement, I have been trying to search for what my next career related goal should be.  While I have one more promotion I could receive, the path to it seems clear and I am on track for it by continuing my current path.  The question is now is what challenge do I put in front of myself to help me grow and develop as a professional and a person.
What is really interesting is yesterday in my foggy brain I was thinking about this very question.  My goal I believe is now to create a better work/life integration.   I am a truly lucky individual as I have a great career and a fabulous family but I have always kind of kept the two worlds separate.  Work is work and home is home.  Like this week, when I have really had to focus on one the other really suffered (please read yesterday's post for more on this).  There has to be a better way.   Can I have the best of both worlds?  I seem to almost live two separate existences but the reality is that I only have one life.   That sounds like a challenge that may even turn into a goal...What do you think?