Let desire drive better actions in your life
Imagine for a moment that it’s six months from today and you are having lunch with a friend. You are telling your friend that you are the best you have been in years—physically, financially, mentally and in your relationships as well. Your success at work is off the charts (in a good way) and life feels full and gratifying and just, plain GOOD.
What does the good life even look like for you personally and professionally? You might have to re-read the paragraph above again to even get a lock on a visual of what that would look like for you. If you want to create a reality that is different from the one you are currently experiencing, you must teach yourself to zero-in on what you want vs. what you have. The ability to focus on what you desire in spite of reality is a sure-fire strategy for success. Yet, if you are like most people you have trouble focusing on desire because the “voice of reason” pipes-in and reminds you that you are stressed and that your reality stinks. Not helpful.
Try this….
Find a piece of paper and 20 minutes of quiet time in the next day or so to write out (long hand) what your “perfect” day would like and feel like if your life was really, really good. Start with how you feel and what you do first thing in the morning. Assume you are working (so not yet retired in the Bahamas) and that most of the foundational elements of your life are the same—but a lot better. If you have trouble start the process by writing down ten aspects of a perfect day. Once you have a list of ten or so aspects go to the next level and write it out like it’s happening—describe going to the mailbox and finding the bonus checks from work or the notice that your stock split and you are receiving a windfall. Next you check your email and the airline is letting you know that your seats to Fiji have been upgraded to first class. Then you get a call from your son to tell you that he is thriving in his life and appreciates all that you have done for him—you get the idea. And don’t worry about how it sounds or reads—no one will see it except you. Review the perfect day often.
Why this works
Even a few minutes of feeling better about your reality can ignite the problem-solving, solution-oriented aspect of your brain and that habit can literally change the course of your life. But you won’t know until you try it.
