Why is it so hard to follow-through with what we want? The steps below will guide you through overcoming issues we commonly face when trying to motivate ourselves to accomplish goals that we have set.
These simple set of tools makes it easy for you to take action towards creating your best life. This outline uses intentional statements, short-term goals, and action steps to help you develop your own blueprint for sustained balance, growth and fulfillment. Each step below pushes you to reflect on your daily habits in order to create a positive and dynamic shift in your thoughts, behavior and emotions.
So, here we go!
1. Balance your Priorities
Figure out what components of your life you spend time and energy on. Are you pretty balanced across work, play, health and personal time? Or are some areas of your life pulling time or energy from what actually matters the most to you? Categorize areas of your life that are important to you. Some categories could be: Work, Relationships, Family, Self-care, Spirit/Faith, Health, Social, Community and Finances. Find 4–6 categories that resonate with you and write them down. I’ve listed a sample here with a visual that might be helpful.
2. Wave your Magic Wand
Once you have the areas written down, ask yourself the magic wand question: “If I wave a magic wand and wake up tomorrow with the ideal life, what would I experience? What would I think, feel, say and do from wake to sleep?” Take a few minutes to just sit quietly and visualize your magical day.
3. Get Intentional
Answering the ‘Magic Wand Question’ will help you know, not only what you want to do, but how you want to feel and experience your life. This brings us to the heart of intentional living. Being intentional means that what we do is aligned with what we think and feel. We have to feel positive and excited about taking the actions that are necessary to actualize our goals. For example, If you love the idea of having a healthy body but you despise exercising and eating healthy, you don’t actually sustain your commitment to healthy behaviors. Connecting to our emotion is how we get the motivation to act. So, make sure that the feeling is positive. If you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed by step-2, go back to your magic wand question and start with how you would feel instead of what you would do in your magical day. Here’s an example of what we have so far:
Life Category 1 –Relationships: Intentional Statement = I feel nurtured, valued and inspired by my relationships with friends, family and co-workers.
4. Compile your evidence
Identifying how you want to feel (from Step 3), leads you to see the evidence that would show you that your goal is manifesting. This evidence can also provide short-term milestones of your progress. For Example:
Life Category 1 –Relationships: Intentional Statement = I feel nurtured, valued and inspired by my relationships with friends, family and co-workers
Evidence/Short-term Milestone
A. I participate in meaningful activities with my community at least 1/mos.
B. I have at least 2 people who I feel safe confiding in
C. My community is exponentially growing
5. Walk your talk
Now you’ve defined your intention and created short-term milestones, it’s time to take action. Make the action steps simple and realistic. Start by making commitments that you feel motivated to start doing today. Also include some intentions that are a little bit of an expansion, but don’t stretch yourself to the extent that you lose motivation or the positive feeling about what you plan to do. To hold yourself accountable, you can give yourself realistic timelines that feel manageable .
Here’s an Example when we add the 5th step:
Life Category 1 –Relationships: Intentional Statement= I feel/am nurtured, valued and inspired by my relationships with friends, family and co-workers
Evidence/Short-term Milestone
A. I participate in meaningful activities with my community at least 1/mos.
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- I will make a list of activities that are meaningful to me by _______(date)
- I will define what community is to me by _______(date)
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B. I have at least 2 people who I feel safe confiding in
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- I will notice when I feel safe with people starting NOW . . . 😉
- I will create a safe space for people close to me by being fully present NOW
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C. My community is exponentially growing
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- I will find new opportunities to engage and give back to my community by _______(date)
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So, there you have it. Repeat the above outline for each of the life categories you wrote down from Step 1. Once you have your outline using the steps above, perhaps put up an inspiring photo or create a vision-board to go along with it. Put this outline and visual in a place where you have to see it everyday. Simply having it on your refrigerator every day, will inspire and motivate you. Not only will you feel good that you are accomplishing your goals, but you will also notice how easy it is to take the next step. If you want to go 1-step further, I invite you to make this a living document that you re-visit every 3–6 months. Cross things off that you’ve completed and keep growing! Now, you are on your way to an Abundant Year!!!