Planning a Better Future
Most of us wish to plan a better future for ourselves, yet find it difficult to determine how. What are some steps towards planning this?
Step 1: Take inventory. Creating a vision for yourself and your life first requires you to ask yourself what it is that gives my life meaning, purpose, and joy?
Look to your talents. Look to your abilities. What makes you smile the instant you think of doing it? It is not difficult to determine what your special ability, gift or interest is. Simply ask yourself: What do I look forward to more than anything else in the world?
Step 2: Tap into your imagination. Now that you have decided to take action by creating a list of your talents, interests, and joy activities, it is time to form a vision around them.
You do this by doing what every child on earth has the power to do at will: Simply use your imagination to create your reality! Start dreaming of all of the ways in which you can spend your time doing what you love. Do not worry about making sense at this stage, just dream as if you were a child again.
Step 3: Set your goals. Once you have decided what you want to do to create a better life for yourself by developing a vision, the next step is to set goals that will serve as stepping stones toward fulfillment of your vision.
You can start setting these goals by asking yourself questions like: What do I want to accomplish in my life? What kind of legacy do I want to leave behind? What would I do if I had all of the money in the world? Make sure your short term goals are realistic and the rest big! Be clear, meaningful, well defined, and make sure your goals EXCITE you!
Step 4: Enjoy the journey and pay attention. As you begin a new day today, always keep in mind everything that you have written down and envisioned for your better future. Although you probably do not have the means to immediately jump into your goals and plans above, you can still start working towards a new reality by thinking of the outcomes while you are doing your best today.
Of course you will still have to go to work today in the job that you would rather not have, deal with some problems, and do the things you must do that you would rather not be doing, etc. but your job now is to do them with vigor, with excitement, with knowing that your future will change according to your vision when you are ready.