Are you in the red or in the black?
If you look at your life as a bank account you can review whether you’re in the red or in the black on the scales of happiness, work, relationships, lifestyle etc.
The first step is in recognising the areas that aren’t going in a direction that fulfils or sustains you.
Use any or all of the tools available in the Tools section, but for this particular task I recommend the Life Wheel Audit activity.
The second step is to look at what you want to change and why.
The third and next step is to set goals as part of an ongoing life plan.
Some tips for goal setting:
1. Be clear on what you want to achieve
2. Find out as much as you can about what you want to achieve and about the resources that may be available to you.
3. Break your plan into smaller, achievable steps. Life planning is not as straight forward as business planning. It may take a few years for you to achieve a particular goal therefore it’s important to set smaller goals within the overall goal to keep yourself motivated and focused.
4. Create a time plan for each step
5. Time-manage the plan so that it is reasonable and practical
6. Keep a diary-style check list so that you can keep an eye on your own progress
7. Be patient with your self.
8. Trust your own reactions and keep checking in with how you feel as you progress.
Overall and most important
It’s better to try something out and to discover that you don’t like it than to never try at all.
You might create something very successful and decide that, despite your success, it leaves you cold. That’s perfectly OK.
The primary goal on your life plan should be to be happy and fulfiled. This supersedes all other goals, so if you don’t like something and you have given it a fair and realistic chance then walk away, without wasting time and energy on regret.
This is also why it is important to continually check in on yourself using the tools in the Tools section so that you will discover if you have veered off course before you have gone too far.
And if you have any experiences of your own, then please feel free to share them with us…
