Clarity provides power. It allows to notice the right opportunities, to choose the right actions and to achieve what otherwise … wouldn’t even have been on your radar screen.
Here are a few suggestions as ‘what to dream about’ and how to make it happen…
Clarify what you want to achieve
Many people do reflect on these topics (especially at the start of a new year). Typical areas where objectives are defined are ‘work’ and ‘physical life’ (e.g. ‘I want to be able to run a marathon’, or ‘I want to stop smoking’). But why limit your ambitions to those 2 areas? Our recommendation is to set objectives for all the areas you consider important in your life. Objectives like ‘I want to rekindle my relationship with my spouse or my children’, or ‘I want to make a unique contribution to a good cause’ not only are worth it, but in addition they help create the quality of life you aspire to.
We suggest 8 area’s for defining your ambitions: physical life (your body), spiritual life (your mindset), emotional life (the people that matter most in your life), familial life (your extended family), social life (your friends and network), contributional life (your citizenship), professional life (your ‘main activities’), and your patrimonial life (your belongings and your wealth management)
Clarify who you want to be
Perhaps even more important than desired achievements, is the ‘desired attitude’. Achieving wonderful things, but being stressed and in an angry mood all year long, can hardly be called true success. Success requires inner fulfillment, which can only be reached if you are the person you want to be. For some it might be ‘I want to be positive, full of energy, and seeking adventure’. For others it might be ‘I want to be at peace, focused and connecting with others’. Who do you really want to be? Where do you want to become a better version of yourself?
Make your dream unconstrained and appealing
We like to dream big. Because it pulls us upward. This doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t accept reality. According to us, it’s possible to accept reality while dreaming big. Yes we accept that Patrick has Parkinson’s Disease – but that doesn’t stop us from dreaming big and continuing to do whatever we can to help find a cure. And it doesn’t stop us from seeking to live a very fulfilling life. Somebody might have missed a promotion – but that doesn’t mean this person cannot dream anymore of a great, fulfilling career. Somebody might have a difficult relationship with others, but that doesn’t stop them from seeking and creating superb relationships in the future.
We do make a difference between the long-term vision (5 to 10 year horizon) which can be truly huge – and your medium-term objectives (1 year horizon) that are probably best very stretched but just realizable. Anyway – make sure your dream is appealing – so that you WANT to realize it. Because motivation will be key…
Take daily action(s)
Of course, just setting objectives isn’t sufficient. It’s consistent action towards ‘what you want to achieve’ and ‘who you want to be’ that leads to results. Our advice: put your ‘achievement’ and ‘attitude’ objectives on a piece of paper, and take 10 to 15 minutes every morning to reread them, to think about them, and to decide on what it is you can do today to progress on your objectives. Even if yesterday you weren’t the person you wanted to be (you procrastinated and were angry with everybody around you), this is the moment to set yourself on course again. It’s an investment indeed – but isn’t 10 to 15 minutes per day a worthwhile investment to create the life you desire?
Don’t hesitate to send us your comments or to share your stories!