Is your life everything you want it to be?
As we look ahead to the new year, it is a great time to consider how our lives could be better. Gift yourself this holiday by following these three ways to move forward and to create an even more fulfilling life.
Create a Vision
By creating a vision of what you would like your life to be, you bring clarity to your path. The steps you need to take now to make that vision a reality will become apparent. You will be able to see opportunities as they present themselves. You will know when to ignore ideas and when to embrace them.
Creating a vision is not just daydreaming. Vision produces a clear picture of what your life will be like in the future. What will you be doing? Where will you live? Who will be your friends? What kind of impact will you have on the world?
One great exercise that can help you make your vision more concrete is to write your own obituary. This exercise makes you think about what kind of legacy you would like to leave. What do you want people to say about you when you are gone? Once you’re done visioning your legacy, return to the present and consider what you can do right now to bring that legacy closer to reality.
Facing Your Fears
The next step is to look very openly at the reasons why you have not taken action to make your vision a reality. What is standing in the way of your vision? What fears are you facing? Are you afraid to look ridiculous? Waste your time? Fail publicly? Lose money? The best way to face what is holding you back is to write down those fears. Yes make a list of all of them from the most impactful – I could die; to the silliest – my kids will be embarrassed. Get them all down.
The next step is to write down what you will gain even if you do not succeed fully in your vision. Will you develop a new skill or meet new inspirational people? Will you help people who really need it or become a role model for people you know? It is always easier to understand what there is to lose by taking action. However, fully understanding what you are gaining may help you move closer to your vision.
One great way to face your fears is to do something not related to your vision that really scares you. Something that maybe you have not done before but that will take you out of your comfort zone. It can be something like going ziplining or speaking to someone you admire. After this exercise, you will recognize that when you face something that scares you, you will realize that it is just not such a big deal and it will encourage you to take risks towards meeting your goal.
Being Your Vision
Finally, the third step is BE the person you want to be right now. A vision will really help you understand what are the characteristics of the person in your vision. Do you want to be brave? So, take whatever steps to be brave, even in the small things. Is your legacy one that inspires? Look for ways to inspire those around you even if it is only sending inspirational quotes to someone you care about.
One great way to take action here is to look at the people you really admire and find out as much as possible about them. Then use them as your role model. In even the most mundane situations in your life think – what would my role model do now? My role models include my coach Hina Khan and Oprah.
Now – go out there and create your vision, face your fears and be the person in your vision.
What is Your Vision
In this coming year, what changes will you make to your life that will take you closer to your vision? What will help you to keep expanding and growing so that you will be even more interesting than you are now? Try these simple steps and repeat them throughout the year to inspire you to take action.
This blog is based on learnings from attending the Expansion Retreat with Hina Khan
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