We all want a solid life plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One that delivers an orgasmic existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we can look back on our little stint and think, yarp, t’was worth it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whereas many suggestions out there are pretty vague and don\u2019t translate to real-world results, this is my self-administered attempt at getting analytical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take what you will and ditch the rest brave mindstronaut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of us treat life as something that simply washes over us. We react to what we encounter rather than proactively shaping an envisioned reality.
It\u2019s fine to be flexible, but fortune can also be a fickle mistress.
If you have certain ambitions, preparing fertile ground seems sensible.
Consciously investing in a life plan can be beneficial. Success is where opportunity meets preparation.
I say this as someone who\u2019s rarely abided by this principle and should take some of his own medicine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A good way of reshuffling our papers and getting the old life plan in order is to begin with the end in mind.
A common technique involves imagining yourself on your deathbed and reviewing your life, complete with imagined successes and regrets.
The aim of this exercise is to remind us that life is short and provide some space on the mental dance floor to review our priorities.
The goal is to decide how to minimise those possible future regrets while maximising successes.
Hence, when you\u2019re nearing the bright lights, you\u2019ll have a smile plastered on your face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the thing… You\u2019ve imagined your own demise and final thoughts. This has hopefully ignited a fire. You might say it depends on what you value. Because only then can you judge the returns accurately. When you\u2019ve decided on your values, you can drill down into more specific life buckets. I prefer to list processes first as they signify an ongoing lifestyle adoption versus an endpoint to be reached. Next, we need to drill down another layer and get into the action items that allow us to achieve these processes or goals. Some will naturally stand out more than others.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth noting that the top performers in each area of life rarely have a well-balanced allocation of their coins. This is an area I\u2019d like to talk about in greater detail, mainly because it\u2019s where the rubber meets the road.
Many of us complain about our results in life.
We might blame our boss, friends, economy, or even weather.
But now your priorities in order, there can be no further excuses.
Taking responsibility<\/a> becomes the default mental attitude.
Either you\u2019re working towards your ideal future and taking the necessary action<\/a>, or your not.
If it’s the latter, there\u2019s only one person to blame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n100 coins to invest<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
But now we must break this bigger picture into more manageable chunks to take action.
Onto another exercise then…
Let\u2019s say you have 100 gold coins to invest in your life.
These coins, at their essence, represent your resources. Could be time, money energy or attention.
Where will you invest them for the maximum return? Which areas of life will you prioritise to manifest the deathbed scenario above?
There are four main areas we can focus on in the framework: <\/p>\n\n\n\nValues<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You see, if you make a boatload of money and don\u2019t value material wealth, it\u2019s not a good return on investment.
So, what do you value?
Only when you\u2019ve decided can you start to plan your life<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBuckets<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Examples might be health, wellbeing, finances, career and relationships.
Ideally, these are natural subsets of your values.
When you\u2019ve done that, it\u2019s time to break them down again into processes and goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\nProcesses\/goals<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
An example of a process might be something intangible like, \u201cmaintaining physical and mental performance\u201d.
Any specific goals can go underneath<\/a>. This could be something like, \u201ccomplete a triathlon\u201d.
Another example of a process could be to “create a self-sustaining business.\u201d
The associated goal could be, \u201cwhich makes X dollars\/month\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\nActions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Initially, you can brain dump everything you think will help polish the process or achieve the goal.
However, you should begin to form an idea of exactly which tasks will help move the needle to most.
If you want to lose weight for example, “exercise daily” will be a greater priority than something like \u201cwatching less TV\u201d.
Now you have a workflow centred around your innermost values, which naturally trickles down through various areas of your life.
Here\u2019s where we have to get analytical and ruthlessly prioritise, deciding where to invest our 100 gold coins. <\/p>\n\n\n\nInvesting the coins<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Highlight these.
Why?\u00a0
Because as we stated earlier, we must decide where to invest our coins and allocate them among the areas identified.
For example, you could choose an even split over each area for the most balance or invest more heavily in areas that inspire or, if we\u2019re lucky, fill us to the brim with passion and life purpose<\/a>.\u00a0
This boils down to personal preference.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\nLearning from success<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Their life plan is likely heavily weighted in one sphere.
How often do you see a workaholic neglect their relationships and health to invest more mental bandwidth in their chosen pursuit?
Or an elite athlete focusing on their health, fitness and performance to the exclusion of all else?
That\u2019s not to say it’s the correct approach or the best for everyone, but the reality is that if you want to compete with the best in your field, you have to make sacrifices in other areas.
It\u2019s also worth noting that you can still be successful in life with a more balanced approach.
Running a successful business, maintaining good relationships and investing in your health should all be possible with a balanced allocation of coins.
You might not be the next Elon Musk, working 120 weeks to take us to Mars, but you may be far happier for it.
Like finance, there will likely be a constant rebalancing of your attentional portfolio as you shift your coins from one area to another depending on life demands and emerging goals<\/a>.
This is fine as long as you\u2019re aware of it and consciously dictate expansion and contraction in each area.
When you\u2019ve decided how many resources to invest in each life bucket, you can go more granular. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAction Items <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You can plan until your heart\u2019s content, but unless we take action, it\u2019s all for nought.
Therefore, for each process and goal identified, we need to establish a list of action items to complete.
This list could be self-generated, mentor-driven or inspired by research into other top performers.
Create action items in order of importance for effectively achieving the process or goal.
The actions can be monthly and weekly or daily, so try to specify the frequency. Really effective ones tend to be daily<\/a>.
At first, when we\u2019re still guessing which might be most effective, start by taking action on all of them and gathering data.
This data should include two things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n