Module 141 - Living Today, Living Now

What are you going to do today to live the life you had always dreamed of in the near future?

Are you going to wait until December 31st to create and write down your goals on paper, then being acting on your goals on January 1st? Or, you are going to create and work towards accomplishing your goals, bringing your life’s aspirations and dreams closer to their fulfillment and eventually reaching them?

I hope it’s the latter. Because, many of us live our lives hoping to change our circumstances, our lifestyle, our future for a better every day without actually doing anything about changing our present and taking action, whatever that action may be, and regardless how big or small that action is. We wait for a better time to act. But the truth is, there’s no such thing as a better time. We will always be busy, there will always be problems that we must deal with, there will always be people in our lives who will support us, and those that will try very hard to point us in the wrong direction. So, why wait? Why not begin working on changing our present and future today, regardless of how challenging our present situation may be?

Even the smallest and easiest step or action that we can take now is still a progress and change in our present state of affairs. The point here is not completely changing our life in one day, one week, or month, the point is to start doing something that creates a motion, creates energy and drive in creating change. Then, with time and continuous effort, goal-setting and follow-through on goals set, again regardless of their complexity or size, things will begin to change, our life will begin to change and point in the direction where we want to go. It may take a long time to get there, or we may reach our goal(s) much sooner than anticipated. What’s important is to keep moving forward, keep ourselves focused, energized, motivated and focused to stay on the path that we are on, heading in the direction where our dreams eventually become a new reality.

So, how do you stay focused on the path to goals’ accomplishment and not getting derailed and pulled in the wrong direction as we go through life?

1. Create a plan – Create a plan, and not just in your head, but a concrete plan written on paper that you can refer to every day. Such plan should include your short-term (1-day, 1 week, 1 month) goals as well as long-term (6 months, 12 months, 3yrs, 5yrs, etc.) goals. Make sure that your goals are extremely detailed with dates, times, and specific measurable benchmarks/success stories all outlined for you to see and follow-through.
2. Create a daily schedule – Create a daily schedule for yourself, listing action items that you will complete each day – your ‘To Do Checklist.’ Examples of to do items may include: a). Reading or listening to a book for 25-30 minutes each day, b). Listening to an online training of the subject/topic you are interested to learn more about or an area you would like to improve in (ex. negotiation skills, sales, etc.).
3. Create and keep a daily journal – Keep and write in your daily journal every day. Example of entries in the journal could be: a). reflections of your day; b) Plans for the day; c). Something new and interesting you’ve learned; d). An important thought that you’ve had during the day. Journaling is a way to capture your thoughts and ideas on paper, free your mind from thoughts and ideas you’ve been thinking about, brainstorm about everything that’s been on your mind. Remember, your daily entries do not have to be complex or extensive. Make it as long or as short as you would like.
4. Follow your plan and stick to your schedule every day
5. Motivate yourself – Motivate yourself to keep energy and drive in the high gear at all times. Watch motivational videos, listen to motivational speakers, read inspiring success stories and blogs. Remind yourself why reaching your goal(s) is important to you now and in the near future.

Create the life you want to live today and stop waiting for a better or ‘right’ time. Actions that you take each day are either help you to build the strong foundation for the future of your dreams or weaken that foundation piece by piece at a time should no action be taken. The route you take and the choices you make each day are the decisions that we all have an opportunity to make as we go through life.​

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I hope you enjoyed reading this module as much as I enjoyed writing it, and hope that you found it to be very useful for you or someone else that you may know. Please feel free to share this post if you know someone who may benefit from reading it same way you did