“When we are proactive with our lives, we become brighter, and we illuminate all those around us.”
Now that you’re aware of the kinds of things that have influenced your decisions in the past, you are free to make new choices in the present, which is the only way to create your future. Instead of being reactive, conscious choice lets you be proactive in living your life by design.
One of the most powerful ways to live by design is to begin with the end in mind. What does that mean? Well, let’s face it, we all share the same ultimate fate in this world. We are all going to grow old, and someday we will all die. The fact that life is so precious and fleeting is a sobering realization, one that begs the following important question:
Who do you want to be by the time you leave this world?
What person do you want to have become before your time is up? What experiences do you want to have had in order to shape your character? What feelings do you want to be able to say you experienced the most when it’s all over and you look back on how you lived? What do you want to have contributed to this world? What legacy will you have left behind? The choice is yours—it really is up to you!
Decide first who you want to be. Then decide what kinds of things that person would do, and last what they would have as a result of who they are and what they’ve done.
Focus on what kind of life you want to live and why you want live it that way. For now, don’t worry about how you will get there. Too often, our limited minds cannot conceive of how something can be created so we give up prematurely and fail
to proclaim what we really want in our lives. The antidote to that trap is to begin with the end in mind and to know why you’re committed to that end. The means of getting there is something you’ll figure out along the way.
Ask yourself what kind of person you want to become and why building that character is important. Ask yourself what things you want to do and why you want to do them. And finally, ask yourself what kinds of things you want to have and why it’s important to have them. Don’t worry about how all this will unfold. Remember:
The most important part of HOW is to be absolutely clear about WHAT and WHY!
This is the first crucial step in creating your Life Plan. You must develop clarity around what kind of person you want to be and what kind of life you want to live— with no limitations or apologies for what it is you really want. And you must know why that kind of life is meaningful to you.
Read Begin With the End in Mind and the other informative articles in this issue of Soar to Success magazine
