Describe a Goal You Want to Achieve in the Future: IELTS Cue Card

A goal I really want to achieve in the next five years or so is to open my own small bakery and café.

The idea first came to me about a year ago. I’d always enjoyed baking as a hobby, mostly my grandmother’s recipes, but last year I took a six-week professional baking course, mainly for fun. By the end of it, I realised that I enjoyed it far more than my office job, and that’s when I set myself this goal.

Since then, I’ve been taking it quite seriously. First of all, I’m saving around twenty per cent of my salary every month, because I know that opening a café is expensive, and I don’t want to borrow too much. Secondly, I’ve got a weekend job at a local bakery, which means getting up at four in the morning on Saturdays. It’s exhausting, but it’s teaching me how a real business works, from ordering ingredients to dealing with difficult customers. I’m also doing an online course in small business management in the evenings. If everything goes to plan, I’m hoping to have enough savings and experience to open within three or four years.

The reason it matters so much to me is partly about independence. I’d love to be my own boss and create something that’s truly mine. But it’s also more personal than that. My grandmother used to bake for the whole neighbourhood, and her kitchen was always full of people. I’d like to create a place with that same atmosphere, where people come not just for the bread, but to sit down and talk. I know it’s risky, and I might fail, but I think I’d regret it more if I never tried.

Useful language:set myself this goaltaking it quite seriouslyif everything goes to planbe my own bosstruly mineit’s riskyI’d regret it more if I never tried

I think so, because goals give you direction and help you make decisions about how to spend your time. Without them, it’s easy to drift. That said, goals shouldn’t be too rigid. Circumstances change, and being able to adjust your goals is just as important as setting them.

Useful language:give you directiondrifttoo rigid

In many cases, yes. Our parents often aimed for a stable job, buying a house and starting a family relatively early. Young people today seem to value flexibility, travel and meaningful work more, partly because stable jobs and affordable housing are harder to find. So the goals have changed, but partly out of necessity.

Useful language:a stable jobvalue flexibilityout of necessity

Often because the goals are too vague or too ambitious, like “get rich”, with no clear plan. Others lose motivation when progress is slow, or they’re afraid of failure and never really start. Breaking a big goal into small, measurable steps usually makes a huge difference.

Useful language:too vaguelose motivationmeasurable steps

Parents can guide children and encourage them to aim high, but I don’t think they should impose goals. When children chase their parents’ ambitions rather than their own, they often lose interest or feel under pressure. The best approach is probably to help children discover what they enjoy and then support them.

Useful language:aim highimpose goalsunder pressure