Are you living your best life? If not, why not?
Why would you waste another day living less than the very best life possible? Henry David Thoreau tells us, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
Is this going to be you? Are you living up to your full potential or are you living a life of quiet desperation?
Your best life is out there for you to pursue, but no one is going to do it for you. Not your boss. Not your spouse. Not your children. Not anyone. If you want more out of life, then you’ve got to wake up, take charge and make it happen.
Make a Plan for a Better Life
He who fails to plan, plans to fail
~ Proverb
How do you start living a better life? You become very intentional. You design your future. How do you do this? By making a very specific plan. Without a plan, you will be tossed by the currents and who knows where you will end up. It likely won’t be where you intended. Are you going to let your life get away from you like this? Maybe it already has to a degree. Why not get it on track and keep it there?
There are probably a million variations on how you can go about creating a specific plan for your life, but here are three components that I think nail it down pretty well.
1. Creating A Life List
Nothing happens unless first we dream.
~ Carl Sandberg
A life list answers questions like these:
* What do you want to do with your life?
* Where do you want to live?
* How do you want to spend your time?
* What are your dreams?
* What causes are important to you?
* How much money do you want to make?
* What kind of job do you most desire?
* What kind of home do you want to own?
A life list is basically a complete vision for your life put together one puzzle piece at a time. To paraphrase Stephen Covey, “To get what you want, you must begin with the end in mind.”
2. Setting Unambiguous Goals
What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Once you have your life list, then you can start to build a series of unambiguous goals. You write out as specifically as possible what you want and when you will get it. For example, if you want to buy a house, you say, “I will own a home by January 1, 2012.”
Some of your goals will be short-term and some will be long-term. That’s okay. The main thing is that you get down on paper what you really want out of life. This charts a specific course. This definiteness of purpose will set in motion a flow of energy that will propel you forward. You’ll be amazed at how fast you make meaningful progress in the direction you want to move once you have your goals clearly stated.
3. Defining an Action Plan
Action is the antidote to despair.
~ Joan Baez
Once you have translated your life list into unambiguous goals, then you need to decide on what concrete steps you need to take to bring your goals into reality. This means putting together an action plan. For each of your goals, ask yourself, “What action steps do I need to take to accomplish this goal?”
Writing goals is powerful, but without action, it is all for naught. You have to act if you want anything to really change. You have to plunge the shovel into the earth if you want to dig a hole. Once the course is charted, then act with courage and purpose to bring your life list into reality. Dreams are realized one small action at a time.
Stand Up and Make It Happen for You
Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.
~ Doug Firebaugh
Putting together a life list, writing out goals and defining an action plan sounds simple, but it isn’t always easy. If it was, then more people would be living the life they really want. You would already have everything you desire. There would be no need for me or anyone else to even mention all this, because we’d all be enjoying wonderful, satisfying lives.
But, that’s not really the case is it? No. Instead, most of us, maybe even you, are leading a life of quiet desperation.
It is time to stand up. It is time to make a plan for living the life you really want. It is time to reach out and get a little help to put things on the right track toward your full potential.
Stop Making Excuses and Start Living
Heaven never helps the man who will not act.
~ Sophocles
You have no excuse for living in quiet desperation for another minute. It is up to you. What will you do? Will you stay where you are and continue down this path or will you reach for change? I’ve done everything I can do for you. What will you do for yourself?
You have been presented here with an opportunity. Will you recognize it? Will you act upon it? Many will not. They will make up yet another excuse. They will choose to believe negative things. They will let their so-called rational minds talk them out of it.
However, a few will act and those few will realize the benefits. They will start to move themselves toward a better life. They will smile knowing their song will be sung. What will you do? I hope you’ll make it happen.
