Go for a walk or jog and run through the plan you want in your head. Think through the timing and the priorities, including the timeline. Plan out each step in your mind. By doing this preview, you will uncover obstacles you hadn’t thought of and allow enough time for each step.
Then you can execute with pace and precision. See the goal and the path first, then follow it.
It’s difficult to achieve worthwhile goals in just 5 minutes. And there are a lot of hurdles and obstacles to get in your way. In addition, almost everything takes longer than you think it will.
So make some bigger, exciting plans 5 years out. You don’t have to know how you’ll get it done. Just commit to doing one thing a day towards achieving each goal. Slowly the end will come into focus and you’ll more rapidly progress to, or beyond, your goal. That is pure magic and joy.
Even if you’re only 15, start planning now. You might simply note the years that you’ll be 60, 70, 80 and 90. Perhaps you’ll write down how much money you’d like to have flow into your pocket each month from your passions, savings and investments. Then you know what you need to accumulate to reach that income goal in 50 years.
Sort your will, funeral arrangements and inheritance planning. Get an outline of these things together and speak to people in these areas or read books and magazines about it.
Spend some time and money to create a very simple and effective plan. You’ll sleep better knowing it’s done and everything has been taken care of. And your family will greatly appreciate it when you’re gone as they can focus on mourning you rather than racing around to sort out the estate, plans and time-constrained challenges.
Few people want to plan for later life and ageing but the sooner you do it, the easier and better it is.
Don’t leave the tough decisions about DNRs, funeral arrangements, inheritance, finances, POA, care, assisted living, long term care, and medical decisions to the last minute. You’ll be too tired and disinterested to do it. You might not be thinking straight or you may have dementia.
Plan ahead while you’re younger and energetic and clear headed. You can thank me later.
FYI: Amazon has a deep sale on and my book can be purchased for the price of a coffee but could help you become a happy millionaire! (Great value!!)
Grab a copy or two as gifts for some friends and family! At these prices they won’t last long. I just saw a half dozen purchased in the last half an hour. And there are now less than a dozen left! Act now!
Amazon.co.uk
So you think you have a plan for 2023. What you probably have is a wish list, or simply an idea.
An idea has no emotion and little, if any, detail. It’s more of a statement. Lose 42 pounds. Get a new job. Land people on Mars.
You can then personalise it and add some emotion like excitement, concern, giddiness, fear or trepidation. As the idea moves from an abstract thought to something that may be part of your future, you begin to internalise it and different emotions will start to bubble up to the surface. For example, I would like to lose 42 pounds, get a new job and be part of the team that lands people on Mars.
To improve your chances of success though, you are best to write these ideas down. Make them personal with “I am” type statements and then add some clear, detailed steps and milestones that you’ll need to go through to reach your desired goal.
Making a plan requires more commitment and detail. It takes a bit of time to make. If you don’t have the will to commit to making the plan, it’s unlikely you’ll have the will to overcome the challenges that you’ll find on the path you have chosen to take.
If you do commit, you’ll need dates and times that you’ll actively progress your plan. You can add milestones too. You’ll also need a system to review your progress, including daily tracking of key activities and metrics. Without tracking against a plan, you are likely to drift and then give up.
But that needn’t be your story. Be the top 5% of people. Use your discipline. Feel how good it will be to have reached your goal. Hold that thought.
Now go turn your 2023 ideas into wishes and then make a plan around the most important ones.
Tag me in so we can celebrate together!!!
You can start with a generalisation. When you imagine an amazing future or visualise the realisation of an incredible dream, it can be big and broad.
But then you need to get deeper into the detail. Like planning a holiday, you start with skiing, beach or camping and then add the key details next. You need to know where, with who, when and how. You’ll also need to know how much so you can have the right cards with you or funds in place.
After the big details are in place you need the next level details. You’ll need to know which airline, which gate, which row and which seat. Maybe even what to bring with you on board and what you can’t bring.
The more precise you can be with the details, the more likely you’ll get what you want. I understand Queen Elizabeth II was very keen on the details. She understood the importance of the slightest thing.
You don’t need to be royalty to dress and present yourself well. And focusing on the details can be done by anyone.
Upgrade your skills in this area. Put the effort in. If you’re currently a five in the detail department, learn how to become a six or even seven. Search it up on the internet. Watch some videos. Practice. Get better at it. Your life will improve in many areas and you’ll be surprised at the benefits you find around you.
Not planning is easier in the moment. You have more fun time, free time, or stress free time. But, sometimes things then happen that you would have foreseen with a plan. So now you hope and pray you get a little unexpected intervention or luck.
That’s one way to live your life. It’s a little more dramatic, exciting and stressful. And if you enjoy stress and uncertainty, maybe that’s the way to go.
However, if calm, relaxed and controlled is what you would like more of, then get planning. It will force you to THINK about the whole picture a bit more. Then you can assess what you will need to OVERCOME and how you might be able to do that.
Then take these thoughts and quickly WRITE them out. Writing brings clarity to your thoughts and allows you to REVIEW your thoughts in note format. Then you can challenge what you wrote and even confirm certain assumptions or guesses.
Now you have the ingredients for a PLAN. Take those written notes from your initials thoughts and challenges to overcome and organise them a little better on a new page. Chronological order is good. Timeframes, cashflows and the effort required will become much clearer.
You will now need less luck and divine intervention. There will be less stress because you have a roadmap. You know where you’ll eat, get petrol and arrive. You can enjoy the journey much more rather than feel anxious throughout.
Then you can use your good luck when you really need it. Not simply because you didn’t want to put the effort into a plan.
It can be a simple plan of a few lines or a more involved plan of 20 pages or more. It depends on what you are trying to achieve.
Regardless, take the notes you’ve written down and start to coordinate them into a plan. You will need a start and a finish date and time. Some first steps. A desired outcome. Milestones are also helpful. And a few moments to breathe, pause, reflect and celebrate.
Like going on a road trip or a vacation, it’s beneficial to have a plan. That does include a budget too! Now you don’t have to have a plan. But that may have led you to where you are today. And unless you are 100% pleased with all of your life’s details at this time, then take my advice on the plan.
Planning itself helps to bring clarity to your thoughts, vision, process and steps. You don’t have to get it right but the process will help you enlighten yourself. There is an element of thinking on paper. Yes, it can feel like work but it doesn’t have to. If it does, put your head down and push through. This essential step towards success should not be overlooked or avoided.
Plan is step four in my upcoming book – Achieve Anything – The 7 Simple Steps to Shift from Uncomfortable to Unstoppable. Making a plan can make people ill at ease or uncomfortable. It’s not just the effort of creating it but the concern or fear of not being able to achieve the desired outcome. Planning makes things real. And real life and effort has real consequences. But if you draft a plan and build on it weekly, you’ll be on your way to unstoppable.
