How to Design a Life of Your Choice
Don’t take your life for granted., Be specific about what you want in life and from life., Take risks, but don’t leave things to chance., Follow people worth following., Spend time to chalk out the path of your life., Make concrete plans, but keep...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Don’t take your life for granted.
It is a human tendency to allow life to drift, and to expect everything to settle down and be in total harmony, eventually.
If you wish to reap good quality fruits, sow quality seeds now!. , If your goal is to climb Mount Everest, you should know where it is located, the altitude, the oxygen supply, mountaineering techniques, best time, weather, and the equipment.
Similarly, you should be specific about what you want from life, where and how you can get it, what are the efforts you need to fulfill the needs, and the time and equipment needed.
Don't sally forth blindly without goals and signposts or be unequipped. , It is a well known fact that without venturing and taking risks, not much can be achieved.
It is good to take risks, but before taking risks, make an objective assessment of pros and cons, the gains and losses, the investment, the returns, and the time required.
Remember, you cannot get the lost time back, you cannot unwind the clock.
Time is the one resource of which there is always plenty but which can never be restored once passed. , It is common for people to follow the path of least resistance.
It's a path that almost everyone follows because it's commonplace to follow the crowd and do what others do.
Unfortunately, more often than not, the crowd may not know where it is going, and if so, then everyone ends up like everyone else, wondering what has happened to their life many years down the road! The crowd is indulged with such frivolities as reality TV and sitcoms, bestsellers, and the conformity of fads, which encourages competitiveness, and often an extreme focus on fun and exhibitionism with rarely a moment for reflection––while a little indulgence of this sort is entertaining, it rarely shows us the deeper meaning of life and how to find our own sense of direction.
Therefore, it is prudent to use discretion even while following good people. , Remember, you only have one life, and it's no dress rehearsal; it’s only going to happen once.
There is no leeway to say “Cut, let’s start it all over again.” Take the time right now to work out a design for your life.
If life were a movie, and you were the producer and actor, what role would you want to play and how would the plot unfold? Designing your life is like making a movie.
You have to be able to envision the end at the beginning.
It may start off a little hazy, but as you continue working on it, it will become clearer and clearer.
You’ve got to write the script, put in the characters.
Use your imagination; let your creative juices flow.
Most of the time, the most creative ideas can lead to the most sensible outcomes, if you let yourself follow them. , As the producer of your life, you can change, delete, or add in anything you want in your project.
But at least by going through this exercise of designing your life, you are in control of your circumstances, rather than allowing yourself to become a victim of them.
So do not hesitate to change your path, if the circumstances warrant. , What you want may not necessarily be easy.
Make a choice in terms of doing what matters to you most., Equip yourself with a pencil and a new notepad or booklet that will become your “Life Book”. -
Step 2: Be specific about what you want in life and from life.
, On the left end, describe as accurately as you can your Present State.
Ask questions like: a.
What am I doing now? b.
What is my income, if any? c.
Do I like what I do? , Ask yourself, if I can’t fail... a.
What do I really want to be? b.
What do I want to have? c.
What will my life be like? , Then ask: a.
What must I do to get what I want? b.
Who can help me? c.
What skills do I need? d.
What resources do I need? , If you do this exercise daily for some time, you will end up with a pretty good design for your life.
You will know where to get what you want, what to do, who can help you (and who you can help), and so on. -
Step 3: Take risks
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Step 4: but don’t leave things to chance.
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Step 5: Follow people worth following.
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Step 6: Spend time to chalk out the path of your life.
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Step 7: Make concrete plans
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Step 8: but keep them flexible enough to be able to change them according to need and the situation.
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Step 9: Don't make the mistake of choosing what’s easy over what you really want to do.
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Step 10: Find a nice quiet spot where you will be undisturbed for at least 20 minutes.
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Step 11: Draw a time line across a page
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Step 12: from now to say five years on.
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Step 13: At the left end of the time line
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Step 14: write “Present State”; at the right end
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Step 15: write “Desired State”.
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Step 16: On the right side
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Step 17: under Desired State
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Step 18: describe as clearly as you can what you would like to see five years from now.
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Step 19: Between the Present State and Desired State
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Step 20: mark on the time line.
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Step 21: Note that the first time you try this exercise
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Step 22: you may not get all the answers you want.
Detailed Guide
It is a human tendency to allow life to drift, and to expect everything to settle down and be in total harmony, eventually.
If you wish to reap good quality fruits, sow quality seeds now!. , If your goal is to climb Mount Everest, you should know where it is located, the altitude, the oxygen supply, mountaineering techniques, best time, weather, and the equipment.
Similarly, you should be specific about what you want from life, where and how you can get it, what are the efforts you need to fulfill the needs, and the time and equipment needed.
Don't sally forth blindly without goals and signposts or be unequipped. , It is a well known fact that without venturing and taking risks, not much can be achieved.
It is good to take risks, but before taking risks, make an objective assessment of pros and cons, the gains and losses, the investment, the returns, and the time required.
Remember, you cannot get the lost time back, you cannot unwind the clock.
Time is the one resource of which there is always plenty but which can never be restored once passed. , It is common for people to follow the path of least resistance.
It's a path that almost everyone follows because it's commonplace to follow the crowd and do what others do.
Unfortunately, more often than not, the crowd may not know where it is going, and if so, then everyone ends up like everyone else, wondering what has happened to their life many years down the road! The crowd is indulged with such frivolities as reality TV and sitcoms, bestsellers, and the conformity of fads, which encourages competitiveness, and often an extreme focus on fun and exhibitionism with rarely a moment for reflection––while a little indulgence of this sort is entertaining, it rarely shows us the deeper meaning of life and how to find our own sense of direction.
Therefore, it is prudent to use discretion even while following good people. , Remember, you only have one life, and it's no dress rehearsal; it’s only going to happen once.
There is no leeway to say “Cut, let’s start it all over again.” Take the time right now to work out a design for your life.
If life were a movie, and you were the producer and actor, what role would you want to play and how would the plot unfold? Designing your life is like making a movie.
You have to be able to envision the end at the beginning.
It may start off a little hazy, but as you continue working on it, it will become clearer and clearer.
You’ve got to write the script, put in the characters.
Use your imagination; let your creative juices flow.
Most of the time, the most creative ideas can lead to the most sensible outcomes, if you let yourself follow them. , As the producer of your life, you can change, delete, or add in anything you want in your project.
But at least by going through this exercise of designing your life, you are in control of your circumstances, rather than allowing yourself to become a victim of them.
So do not hesitate to change your path, if the circumstances warrant. , What you want may not necessarily be easy.
Make a choice in terms of doing what matters to you most., Equip yourself with a pencil and a new notepad or booklet that will become your “Life Book”.
, On the left end, describe as accurately as you can your Present State.
Ask questions like: a.
What am I doing now? b.
What is my income, if any? c.
Do I like what I do? , Ask yourself, if I can’t fail... a.
What do I really want to be? b.
What do I want to have? c.
What will my life be like? , Then ask: a.
What must I do to get what I want? b.
Who can help me? c.
What skills do I need? d.
What resources do I need? , If you do this exercise daily for some time, you will end up with a pretty good design for your life.
You will know where to get what you want, what to do, who can help you (and who you can help), and so on.
About the Author
Isabella Long
Brings years of experience writing about crafts and related subjects.
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