When we were young, we let our parents lay out the foundations of what we are to become. Gave us shelter, food and education. But there comes a time where your intrinsic motivation starts to spark and you gain awareness different from what you are told. A life that you might have seen from others that you strongly resonated with. For some households unique ideas are nourished and supported to some extent, but for some it is time to empower our vision and grab the bull by the horn and create lives worth pursuing.
No one will save you, tell you who you should be and what to do. It is time to hold yourself accountable for your where you stand and start creating the life that is meant for you. Here are some ways you can achieve them.
1. Have a Clear Vision
Take stock at where you are in your life. What what brought you here, to where you are and where would you like to be? Before you get all entangled in the endless to dos of your day, offer 5 minutes to really ask yourself what specific situation is ideal for you. Learn the skill of imagination. Everything you see around you has been imagined by someone brave enough to persist. Create a clear mental picture of you in your ideal day in your ideal body with your ideal relationships. If you are able to envision it, it is only a matter of time till it comes to fruition. Your mind’s capability to picture it is the power that will bring the in animate object to animate. Believe, plan, learn and course correct along the way. These mental pictures might change daily but one thing you need to keep consistent, it is your intentional imagining.
“There is nothing capricious in nature and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feel it.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
2. Write Things Down
Make a habit of writing things down. Your mind is a great receiver of information that might contain deeper insights on what you are about to do with regards to your higher mission. Be sensitive to what inspires you and what gets you curious. I’d like to call them “hits” when I get that feeling that “this might be something worth looking into a little bit deeper”. So never ignore a hunch. Write it down, investigate and wait till the power of right action and divine inspiration penetrates your whole being and you have no choice but to move your body towards it. Writing things down keeps your brain from ruminating on a thing that might be keeping you open for more data downloads. So get it out of your head, into paper and conjure up a good plan and deploy with intense focus and flow.
“Paper is to write things down that we need to remember. Our brains are used to think.”
– Albert Einstein
3. Make Short & Long Term Goals
Know the difference between urgent and important tasks. This is the Eisenhower matrix. Urgent: Tasks or activities that are time-sensitive and require immediate attention to avoid immediate consequences. Urgent activities typically support others in achieving their goals. Important: Tasks or activities that support strategic progress towards your personal and/or professional long-term goals.
Finish important tasks first before doing urgent tasks. We easily get wallowed up in the busyness of the day that we might appear productive but in reality it doesn’t move the needle towards our long term goals. Be strategic, time your tasks and rate yourself at the end of the day. Embody your future-self by writing down 3 key important actions that you will finish before 8am. Design a schedule that works for you and follow it. Empowering your future starts with these little steps.
“We all need lots of powerful long range goals to help us past the short-term obstacles”
– Jim Rohn
4. Let Go Of Something Good For Something Better
A habit might have been crucial for you to be where you are now but if you don’t change, nothing will change. Remember that designing your future requires a lot of editing and course correcting. Feel free to look at things that are not necessarily a bad habit but maybe something you can let go to make space for something better. Maybe let go of watching too much entertainment, it is good and relaxing but maybe try replacing it with reading or introspection. Maybe your job has brought you stability but have not challenged you enough to be fully fulfilled, you do not need to quit your job which sustains you, maybe letting go of inessential responsibilities in your job that don’t bring you joy can be a power move. It’s all about allocation. Apply the 80/20 principle.
“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”
– Tony Robins
5. Be Decisive
Decision comes from the word decisio which literally means to cut off. Know where you spend your time. Cut off unnecessary baggage. You might be carrying baggage in your head from the past and dread of the future. Create a single minded focus on how you will create your future and stay in that realm. When you notice the mind wandering, remind yourself of why you are creating your future and get back on track. Deliberate practice, you wanna be the person who can stand on your hands? Do the drills for 30 minutes daily for 66 days. Decision making is empowering and it will bring you places you never knew existed.
“Decision making is easy when your values are clear.”
– Roy Disney
6. Move The Body
This can’t be exaggerated enough. Create dopamine by doing some jumping jacks, lifting some dumbbells or going for a walk. Do a standing jog or do some simple stretches. This will activate your proprioceptors, you will know how to safely inhabit the body and will prime you for tip top performance.
“The primary and most beautiful of nature’s qualities is motion”
– Marquis De Sade
7. Put Money On It
if you invest money for a course or a business, it is more likely that you will follow through. A lot of us get excited when things are new but fail to be consistent or quit when things get boring. Do not easily be distracted with your mission and never hesitate to invest in yourself.
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
– Zig Ziglar
8. Know How You Will Serve
it’s all about serving other people or a great cause. What talents do you have that might be of service to an organization or community. If you give something of yourself, the universe will give it back to you ten folds in unexpected ways. Serve in ways that celebrates your character and your uniqueness. Pick an industry, take the course, print the brochure and head on out confident that this is only a small part of an expansive journey.
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
– Rabindranath Tagore
9. Get Proximal
The proximity principle in psychology describes the way relationships are formed between things close to one another. Position yourself where you are able to succeed and move up. Get yourself in the loop, engage with people in the industry you are in. Choose the city where your industry is thriving. So get as closest to the sun as you can be. Maybe intern for your dream mentor. Be open to people you can help and can help you. You’ll be surprised how things connect in the future.
“If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.”
– Tony Robbins
Conclusion
These are only some of the ways you can take charge of the future. These only work when applied deliberately. What strategies are you gonna apply? Hope you find one that really works for you. You contain multitudes and there is no limit to what you can be, do or have.
Namaste 🙏