Around December and January time, there are always a tonne of articles and blog posts about how to get organised for the coming year; how to meet your dreams, what to do, what not to do, how to make resolutions you'll keep blah blah blah.
I hate those articles (may or may not have written some myself).
Let me ask you a question. How many resolutions have you actually ever kept? Of the ones you kept, how many did you actually think were worthwhile in the end?
As I said the other week, I hate making resolutions because I'm always changing my mind on what on I want to do. I evolve as the world around me evolves.
I do however, have a big picture goal and a system I use to prevent me feeling completely overwhelmed by all the things I want to do, so I thought I'd share it with you today.
Don't worry, I'm not asking you to do a lot, and in fact, you don't have to do anything at all if you don't want to. You can sit back on your ass and read this and then screw it up and chuck it in the metaphorical bin (someone really should invent an 'unlike' button. I'd love that. Not for this site though. Only the 'other people' blogs).
BUT...if you sometimes feel like you're not really sure what direction your life is heading in, or if you've lost sight of the big picture, or if the big picture is just too big, you may just fine a little respite in trying the stuff below.
It's not big, it's not clever. It's simple and straight-forward and easy to adjust as life pulls you around however, it'll also help you change that up and take control of life.
OK - this is dead easy (seriously, if you can type...or hold a pen and write...you can do this. If not, DUDE, that is your main aim in life, forget everything else). There are four columns to fill in:
Things I want to do:
This is literally your bucket list. Write everything down. I've got things like learning to surf, swimming in a warm ocean, courses I want to do, places I want to live and languages I want to learn on mine.
This will make me feel:
This is a bit trickier. Sometimes we want to do something but we're not entirely sure why. This is your chance to think about the feelings that will come from doing the action. If you don't know how you feel about the thing you want to do, you'll never be motivated enough to do it.
I want to do / feel this because:
The BIG question. You've figured out effect what doing your thing will have on you. Now ask yourself why you want it to have that effect. How will this change you or your life? What qualities will it bring out in you? For me, learning to surf properly will force me out of my comfort zone. It will make me stronger and healthier and more at one with nature. It will increase my balance and arm strength which will improve my yoga practice. It will help me meet laid back people with a passion for life.
This will help me grow by:
What difference will the 'why' make in your life? How will you as a person change as a result?
You may find it good to do this on Google Drive or the notes function of your phone so you always have it with you.
Having a big picture list like the one above won't change your life, but it will clarify what you want to do and why. Notice there are no time frames on there. You'll probably find having them listed down is enough.
Since I started doing this I've crossed quite a few things off my list and I'm more motivated than ever to actually do something about the things I've written down.
Do you have any tools or techniques for making things happen or keeping track of your dreams? Share them below with me - I love a good system!