Why A Goal Is A Place To Work From, Not Towards

I know which one would get me up in the morning and fuel my motivation as I go about my day. (Hint: it’s not the first one.) 3. We get lost in the to-do lists When we think of building a house, naturally we think of building it from the bottom up, bit by bit; a good foundation followed by supporting structure, then walls, roof and installations. It sounds like the perfect model to use when building the life we want—from the bottom up, one brick at a time. However, can you imagine building a house without a clear image of what it will be like?

In the building site of our lives, it can be easy to get lost in the tasks we frantically try and get through in order to build our desires. We have the beautiful opportunity to be both builder and architect for our lives. By picturing our desires in detail we give ourselves a blueprint to build by. We start from the finished product like we are building forwards and backwards in time simultaneously. It sounds a little trippy, and it is, but it’s fun. And it works. However, only after we have got our vision in high definition can be start to build—envisioning as much as we can to then break it down into the tiniest steps.

KEEPING THE VISION ALIVE

The ancient proverb states, “Without vision the people perish.” And while that sounds pretty drastic, I know that when the light of my vision grows dim my motivation, and with it my momentum, starts dying off pretty fast.

Here are some practical ways to keep your vision alive and vibrant and central. • Use a vision board. It will help bring clarity and keep your eyes on what you want. Although originally skeptical, I found this enlightening, fun to do and a powerful way to keep my focus on what I want. Once done, the board can be placed somewhere you see it regularly (daily, if possible) out on display or inside the wardrobe door for your eyes only. • Start journaling. “Just shoot me now,” used to be my response to journaling, mainly because I was always being told it was something I should (have to, must and ought to) do. It just reeked of failure, mediocrity and dutifully banal scribblings. That was until I learned how to use it to serve me. The practice of regularly envisioning and writing about your end goal is so powerful. Don’t try this at home—unless you want change and progress in you life. Taking time to envision your desire and then commit it to paper keeps it alive and vibrant. We can then sculpt our future one day at a time as we have an active connection to it. You could do this weekly or daily, either as peak-state journaling or a morning pages/flow journal. • Walk through your vision. Our vision can become a place to enliven and refresh us and where we can refuel for the journey. Scheduling a time to internally walk through your end goal vision creates clarity and energy for you to keep going. The vision board can act as a stimulus for this and your journal is ready for you to begin to pull what you see into the present. Tip: write it down using present tenses—I am, I have, I am doing, I have been, etc. It makes it more tangible and engages your subconscious mind. • Conduct regular checkups on your growth. I remember when I was pregnant, my hubby and I couldn’t wait to see how much bigger our baby was growing. We’d marvel that they started out the size of a bean and get all excited as my belly was getting rounder. Their growth from how they started out was what was important to us, and still is. We always measure the gain and not the gap from our ideal. Dan Sullivan is the master of this perspective. With regards to our projects and goals, by measuring how far we’ve come we will build our confidence, feel happier and fuel our motivation to continue. And what we review and measure we can improve on.

It all starts with you; only you can create your dream, your end goal, in 3D, HD, Technicolor glory. What does it look like and feel like? Who are you? What do you do in your average day or week? Taking some time aside to answer these questions will help you to craft a vision that will shape your tomorrows day by day.

Permission to Launch with Kate Pennell

Kate Pennell, English and slightly geekish, is a coach and dream catalyst who lives in Spain with three kids, various furry creatures and a patient husband. She loves nature, creativity and seeing people discover what truly makes them come alive. Kate provides the people she works with permission to launch and helps them begin to fly as they were made to. She teaches, encourages and connects with fellow travellers across our global village. Find out more at https://www.permissiontolaunch.website/.