Originally posted 14/07/2009 1:26:49 PM
How do you feel about accepting responsibility for your life? Do you get angry when someone suggests that you are responsible? Trust me, there was a time where I would rather have believed that things just happen to us, and that nothing in my life is my fault. It is so much easier to be a victim, but I can’t do that. I have to accept that I created my life; all of it – good and bad.
If you accept that you are responsible for your life, then it seems logical to say “if I am going to create my life; what do I want to create”? That is another big topic and it is difficult to know where to start so in this post, I will suggest couple of techniques to get you started. There are literally dozens of ways to create your life, and there is no right way or wrong way. Before we talk about that though – it is really important to keep in mind what I mentioned before about not getting caught up in ‘how’. This first part of creating your life is about the big picture; the dreams you have for your life. Set aside your current reality, and set aside “how” you are going to get to what you want – just for this exercise. Think big. Our biggest problem is not that we aim too high, but that we aim too low. We'll get to the 'reality' part soon enough.
Here are a couple of suggested ways to do this part – the visioning exercise and the lists. To do the visioning exercise, set aside an hour of quiet time and sit with a pad of paper. Chose one of the areas of your life and simply close your eyes and think about how you would like that to look in five years. Create the full picture, or as much as you can of that picture. The more vivid your imagination – the better. And yes, this is basically daydreaming but with a purpose. Once you have imagined, then you make notes on what you want; in detail. That is really crucial. The suggested areas can range from a short list of topics such as James Arthur Ray’s FRIPS (Financial, Relationship, Intellectual, Physical, and Spiritual) to a much longer list that can include: career, health, body, home, money, family relationships, intimate relationships (marriage and dating), relationships with friends, social and community involvement, contribution, legacy, spiritual growth, recreation, creative expression, and intellectual growth. As you can see, those fit into the bigger categories but sometimes it helps to think about each area.
The other method to create the big picture of your life is what I call lists. Write down 100 or more things that you want to be, to have, and to do in your lifetime. Then group those into categories. You can do either of these methods or any other method you prefer.
What is essential is that you are deciding what you want your life to look like. Because if you are responsible for everything in your life; it may as well be things that you want!
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