Amazing Life Planner: Part 2
In the previous post in the Living an Amazing Life series, I shared with you the first three steps to creating an amazing life plan.
There’s still work to be done, so here are the next three…
4. Get advice from Young You, Old You, and Game-Over You
12-Year-Old Wisdom: Imagine describing your life so far to a 12-year old version of yourself. What changes would that child want you to make right now? Fill out the 2nd row on the Amazing Life Grid.
82-Year-Old Wisdom: Imagine describing your life so far to an 82-year old version of yourself. What changes would that 82-year old want you to make right now? Fill out the 3rd row on the Amazing Life Grid.
Game-Over Wisdom: Nothing is quite as clarifying as mortality. If you knew this is your last year on this great planet, how you spend your days? What would you stop doing? Fill out the 4th row on the Amazing Life Grid.
5. Put it all together: Your Amazing Life Plan Ner
Take what you’ve learned from the previous exercises. What themes or patterns do you notice?
Action
Based on what you learned from the previous exercises, fill out the Amazing Life Plan. Choose your top three “achievement” and top three “enjoyment” goals for the next 12 months.
Tip: Start with the ‘Self’ category.
AMAZING LIFE PLANNER
6. Build a better plan, and plan ahead – well ahead
An amazing life takes commitment and organization. You will only have a great life if you schedule things that make it great and stick to those commitments.
This is why my wife and I start each year knowing where we’ll take our vacations. We make our bookings for the coming year in December, if not earlier. Whatever your favourite activities are, start planning them. Book the concerts, brunches and dinner parties. Commit to your date nights. Schedule your volunteer time.
Of course, if you’re the rare person who can be spontaneous with all your personal activities and run a booming business, my hat is off to you. But most of us need sound planning to make it happen.
Tip: Use birthdays and holidays to your advantage. These are great triggers for scheduling special events and get-togethers.
Action
What key things do you need to schedule for the coming 12 to 18 months?
Tip: Think of your life as a massive R&D project. Keep experimenting, notice what works and what doesn’t, and adjust as you go. An amazing life is an evolving life.
Remember: If you want a sense of satisfaction, you need to plan for enjoyment and fulfillment—aka ‘heart success’. This requires defining how you want to feel about yourself, and your life, when you wake up every day.
Everyone has their own definition of heart success. You may want to feel energized, influential and connected to people you love. You may want to feel like you are making a profound difference in the world, and evolving as a human being.
However you define it, you need to sort out what heart success is to you so it can be part of your game plan.
If you play your cards right, you’ll be able to look back, decades from now, with zero regrets.
This is the true test of an amazing life.
Let me know how you get on.
This is the last of four articles in the Living an Amazing Life series. Other posts include: