Your Desired Future

Have you really put some thought into what your desired future is? Follow the three simple steps below and get on track to having what it is you truly want in your life.

"Do You Know Where You're Going To?"

This simple question is still powerful today, more than thirty years after Diana Ross belted it out in the theme song from the Seventies hit movie, Mahogany.

Unfortunately in the overwhelming fast pace of modern life, it is all too easy to get lost in the fog of doing, rather than being. By slipping your life into mindless automatic drift, you could end up in unhappy, unplanned places, regretfully wondering how you got there.

Instead, take these simple steps to awaken your life journey.

1. Play With The Possible

Instead of trying to grit your teeth and get through an unhappy present, play with thoughts of what’s possible in a happy future.

There are several inspirational stories where former prisoners of war, used their imagination to mentally escape from their cramped and filthy holding cells. They vividly imagined being reunited with their families, going fishing, starting their own business, winning at golf.

Not only did they manage to hold onto their sanity, in many cases they went on to actually enjoy the previously imagined experiences in the future.

While I hope that your present job does not make you feel like a prisoner of war, now you know that your imagination can be used as a mental escape hatch.

2. Choose Wisely

Which one of your possible futures would give you the greatest pleasure? Do you have the skills and the resources to achieve this possible future?

You must choose which destination you will pursue. Remember that choice means that you decide where you are going to focus your attention and energy. Do not get caught up in the foggy world of indecision or you will delay focusing your attention on taking specific action.

3. Back To The Future

The best way to break free of this indecision is to:

- Project the future consequences of not making a decision within a set time frame.

- Project the future consequences of the two possible choices that are most attractive to you.

- Choose the outcome with the greatest benefits both immediate and long term, with the fewest drawbacks.

For example, your Company has offered you that senior position that you have been patiently preparing for over the past four years.

Only problem is that you will have to relocate your family to another country and your wife is about to have your second child and your first son is the star of his high school baseball team. You both feel pretty settled in your present neighborhood.

While such life decisions can be hair pulling, you must look at future consequences as objectively as possible, weighing all the present facts such as:

- how likely is it that the Company will offer you another similar position closer to your home, if you turn down this offer?

- how much stress would such a relocation place on your family life? Is your marriage strong enough at this time to deal with relocation, in addition to adjusting to a new baby in the house?

These decisions are highly personal and will impact significantly on your future and that of your loved ones.

Putting off tough decision making will not take you closer to your desired future, only being honest about your feelings and logical about the possible future consequences will.

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