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Something most of us fail to realize (or at least remember) is that life is a creation. It’s a bit like a good meal. It takes something to produce an extraordinary, unforgettable experience versus opening a can of instant soup. GREAT LIVES, like great meals, require some planning and thought—and they RARELY HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT. If you’re going to have a great year in 2008, you’ll need to create it. Whether you write your plan in a 15 page excel spreadsheet or on a restaurant napkin, what will make a difference is simply that you create one. In that spirit, let me offer you some guidelines and sophisticated short-cuts to creating a great ’08. |
Guidelines for Creating a Great 2008
- Complete 2007: Completion includes mourning what you didn’t get done AND celebrating what you DID accomplish, DID learn, how you DID grow.
- Something is Better than Nothing: Even if you don’t do a lot, simply thinking about what you want for ’08 will help you see new opportunities to make your life more of the one you dream about.
- Results + Experiences make a Great Life: Don’t just write how much $ you want to make but the type of life you want to have and the kind of person you want to be.
- It’s YOUR life, create one YOU would enjoy: Be careful not to add in things that mostly sound like a good idea for someone else.
- You don’t have to do EVERYTHING this year: Don’t get stressed about including every goal or good thing.
Sophisticated Shortcuts for Creating a Great 2008
QUICKIES
Time:10-30 minutes
- The Great Year in Three Steps Plan
Make a quick list of 3 things you’d like to accomplish or experience. You don’t have to pick big things…like losing 50 lbs. You could pick small things like drinking more water.
- MORE or LESS
Write a simple list of what you’d like more of in your life—great books, fun dinner parties, prayer, etc. and start putting it in. Then look at what you’d like less of—stress, junk-food, a nasty client, laundry and think about how to get rid of those things.
OVER COFFEE
Time: 30-90 minutes
- Pick a Character
Find or make up a character to become--could be from a book or movie or your own imagination. One year I noticed I was starting to be a bit too timid for my own liking. I spent an entire year being the INDIANA JONES of my own life, bold and adventurous. That was also the year I started my own business…coincidence?
- Theme for the Year
How: Create a simple phrase or string of words that embody your intention for 2008. Make a list of projects or goals that naturally relate to your intention and then pick a couple to work on in the short term. Don’t overwhelm yourself.
My theme for 2007 is BEAUTY, CLARITY & ABUNDANCE. Beauty has included an orchid, new headboard, a trip to enjoy the beauty of the ocean and more of me noticing great sunsets and beautiful flowers. CLARITY unexpectedly turned into eating better foods and living cleaner.
ONE NIGHT or LONG MORNING
Time: 1-3 hours
- A Picture is Worth Thousands
Purchase a poster frame (available at Target for around $12.) Then sit down with a big pile of different types of magazines and collect pictures and images that remind you of both the results you want and the way you want to FEEL in 2008. Use the sheet in the frame as your background and glue your images in an arrangement that you like. You don’t have to produce a masterpiece but make sure it’s beautiful and inspiring to you. The frame will help you create a clean, hang-able work of art that looks good in your home or office, wherever you will see it often. Let it remind you of the great life you’re creating all year long.
- The Having It ALL Plan (please contact me for my actual plan from 2006)
Start by creating four or five categories to represent each of the areas of life that are important to you. Give them each a name that inspires you. Next, create goals or games for yourself for each of those areas. You might even write a paragraph about your vision for that area.
I have an area in my life which I call “In Love with My Life.” It contains games that make my life one that I love including travel and classy dinner parties. It also contains my goals for how many cheesy mystery novels I will read—definitely my idea of a great life.
Don’t forget to create plans for the less glamorous side of life as well. Laundry is part of an area I call “Having It All.” Schlepping clothes downstairs to the washer becomes part of having a great life, a gift I give to myself and not just another stupid thing on an endless list. The laundry hasn’t changed, but the way I relate to it has, and that makes all the difference.
Regardless of how you chose to create your life, always be actively creating. That may mean a long planning process or simply taking a second before you drive off to your next meeting to declare that this day is for beauty. Whatever you do, do something. If I could give one gift to people it would be the gift of consciousness. That they would realize that life really is what you make of it and then go make theirs everything they dreamed.
Here’s to having it all!
Alecia Huck is a speaker, consultant and eWomenNetwork member. She is the Maverick of MAVERICK & COMPANY. Alecia is a performance expert who helps people spend more time “kickin’ butt” and less time getting their butt kicked. You can find out more about Alecia and the classes she teaches at www.maverickandcompany.com or contact her directly at alecia@maverickandcompany.com.
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