Before we move onto Part 2, let' s quickly recap Part 1 of creating your future. Make sure you have invested the time in imagining what you want in the future. Make it as detailed as a character in a novel.
Don't underestimate this step, vision is so important that even the bible tells us what happens when we don't have it, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).
Once you have your vision, it is time to implement the Game Plan.
1. Tell the World
2. The Dailies
3. Focus on the Could's
4. Measure the Gain, Not the Gap
1. Tell the World
This is a good indication if you are 100% committed to your goals. If you find yourself shying away from telling others, you need to find out why. The more committed you are to your goals the less you will care about what others think.
My commitment to becoming a life coach didn't happen when I applied for certification, it was when I started telling people. You know you are 100% all-in when you start telling people about your plans.
Once you are fully committed to your vision you'll begin to repel the wrong people from your life and attract the right people. This is the process of your life aligning with your new vision.
Your goal needs to be so important to you that you stop caring about what others think about your goal.
2. The Dailies
“According to research the more we do the mental rehearsal of our new identity it creates new neurological tracks (in the present moment) that literally change our brain to look like the brain of our future. In other words, the brain starts to look like the future we want to create has already happened.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
Once you’ve committed to something, your job is to shift your brain, mindset, and identity to match that future reality.
Your daily work of visualizing is key. If you aren't doing daily work of quiet time, start today. Choose prayer, scripture study, mediation, or journaling, all or any of these are great but make a commitment to yourself to add this to your life. It's essential for your mental health, it's like going to the gym for your brain.
That's all a goal is: a new you.
Our brains are so amazing that whatever we are thinking it starts producing new emotions from our new thinking.
Daily visualization will give your brain the time to produce the thoughts you need to create these new emotions. Every day you need to work on producing the desired emotions of your future self until your vision becomes your reality. This is what visualization is all about.
Only 1% of American's write their goals down daily and most don't spend the time visualizing that future. This is like having a full tank of gas in your car and never going anywhere.
Let your amazing brain do the work. Just get in the car and drive. You spend the time imagining accomplishing the goal and your brain will begin to create the new neurons that are needed for your new identity.
3. Focus on the Could's
When I stopped waiting for the desire to exercise is when I started meeting my exercise goals. I decided to focus on how could I exercise daily not why I don't wan't to. Focusing on the obstacle of time and not my lack of desire is how I created a decade long exercise habit.
Once you stop thinking the "can't's" is when you start seeing the "could's". Your brain starts to find the needed creative solutions.
You'll be amazed how resourceful you get, to quote Marie Foreo "Everything is figureoutable."
When my husband was in his last year of graduate school, I was supporting us working for a bank but was miserable in my job. My mother in law suggested I look to see if I could finish my degree in that last year.
I hadn't even considered that a possibility and frankly didn't see how it could work. But once I made the decision that I was going to finish, I figured out the could's. Every new obstacle that came up I figured out the solution. That 100% commitment to finish kept me focusing on the could's and out of the "cant's."
When you begin taking action toward the dream, investing in that dream, - then you’ll start making progress. This progress will increase anticipation and expectation that you’ll succeed.
3. Measure the Gain, Not the Gap
“The way to measure your progress is backward against where you started, not against your ideal.” – Dan Sullivan, THE GAIN AND THE GAP
Every 30-90 days ask yourself the following:
Where am I now?
What were my wins from the past 90 days?
What are my planned wins for the next 90 days?
These questions will keep you accountable. They will help you see the progress you’re making. Most people, regardless of their success, focus on the gap. They only see lack. They only see what they’re not doing well.
One of the most important pieces of advice I can give you is to live in the gain. process. Research on endurance athletes shows that how they feel while performing determines how long they can go. If their jaw is clenched and they feel they are exerting lots of effort, they will burn out faster than those with a loose jaw who feel calm.
Unclench your jaw and enjoy the process. You are going to experience both failure and success. Focus on loving the experience and be mindful of how you are defining success.
This life is all about the journey. Any goal you will accomplish you will still experience the 50/50 of life (negative and positive emotions). That is the human experience. We have to feel the pain to appreciate the pleasure.
We make and accomplish goals to become a better version of ourselves.
One of the most important pieces of advice I can give you is to live in the gain. Stop and see your growth. This is when life gets fun.
If you would like to continue the conversation about your personal game plan and how to just get better at life, sign up for a consultation...the tools I teach literally can change the game for you!
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