Planning for the Future Includes Tomorrow

SHOW NOTES:

On this show…we are looking to the horizon and brainstorming without limits. All the while keeping consideration of the present and the immediately following because planning for the future DOES include tomorrow. We can daydream and visualize with the belief that the sky is the limit but to avoid a future of desert marriages, let’s add context, timelines, and a healthy dose of now and then. Don’t put off tomorrow what you could have today! Oh sure, a bit of fantasy is productive. I mean if you didn’t stretch yourself now and again where would you be - going in circles. Life is full of promise and no matter what you set as your next goal, with a little engineering and drive, you can get there. Where is there? Let’s put some color to that.

Planning for the future could take on a stodgy context of financial investments to help you when and if you retire someday. But let’s think of future planning as everything that happens, after today. It could include long-term goals, a solid financial foundation to take care of you when you are no longer pressing the gas pedal to the floor. It could be logical and logistical goals, normal for your life’s journey. Education, career, house, family. It could also be to bake in a bit of fun - vacations, vacation homes, travel, hobbies, additional business opportunities. It could be more personal and emotional in nature - more rest, better health, stronger friendships, volunteerism, giving back.

Just think about it. No really….that’s what it will require. You to think, challenge yourself, possibly step outside your comfort zone, and then push yourself to take action. 

We could carry on with the mechanics of life just getting by with our health, wealth, spirituality, and personal relationships and more than likely be ok. But don’t you want more? More experiences, more love, more enlightenment, more purpose?

As you sit here today…what comes to mind? Maybe you’re the most organized and have lists upon lists of what to do today, this week, month, or year but maybe you are thinking….hmmmmm I don’t know where to start.

Joanna Hughes reminds us of:The Importance of Inspiration and Four Tips for Finding It in an article she wrote for Keystone Masterstudies

I found a fun and meaningful exercise that help you Identify Significant Experiences to Inspire Your Future at Alberta alis

Well guess what: ​​Don’t Take Your Head Out of the Clouds! Says Rebecca Renner in an article she wrote for The New York Times

Barbara Grace leads us forward with How to Set Realistic Short Term Goals for a Successful Life in an article she wrote for Lifehack

KEY HIGHLIGHTS: Planning for the Future Includes Tomorrow

1.  Future planning is everything that happens, after today
2. Inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations
3. Inspiration is best thought of as a surprising interaction between your current knowledge and the information you receive from the world
4. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas and allow your team space and a little creative control to help you shape your vision 
5. Significant experiences are the events in your own personal history you remember because they made you feel good, satisfied, engaged, invigorated, inspired, in the flow
6. Daydreaming can inspire happiness if you purposefully engage with meaningful topics, such as pleasant memories of loved ones or imagined scenes of triumph in the face of all odds
7. Research has shown that imagining scenarios as visual scenes can provide a boost in mood to people suffering from major depression.
8. Change begins with the hope of what’s possible in your life
9. A short-term goal is the smallest step you need to reach a bigger goal centered around achieving something you passionately desire
10.  Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. 

 

CHALLENGE: Let your mind wander with a good mix of fantasy and potential reality. When inspired, take action with short-term goals that will propel you forward. Involve your support group to add additional color, flare, and some much-needed encouragement. 

I Know YOU Can Do It!