“A Life Plan is an app you need to stay on the path to the life you desire. Without a plan, chances are you’ll end up in an unintended destination: unhappy marriage, an unfulfilling career, in bad health or all of the above.” ~~ Living Forward
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The problem: the drift
Put on your imagining/thinking hat for a minute!
So that’s a boat in the waters. Let’s assume it’s not held in place by an anchor or rope (ignore the rope in the picture). And now, the wind is blowing boisterously to the north and the currents on the sea are also flowing north. With those in mind, in what direction will the boat travel?
North or South?
You’re right if you said North! In essence, the boat will travel helplessly in the direction of the wind and wave of the current given that the boat’s engine is turned off or no one is paddling the boat.
That’s what the drift means.
We see this drift happen in real life when individuals simply follow the flow of life aimlessly/helplessly with no sense of direction and purpose especially in the key areas of life. It is basically taking whatever life offers without objecting. It’s being reactive not proactive. And this isn’t a pleasant way to live.
Reasons and consequences of drifting
People drift for a number of reasons. One of them is ignorance. It is possible to be out of touch with the reality of life and that can happen when we have either been deceived or haven’t been told the truth yet. Another reason is simply distraction. That’s when we focus so much on one area of our life (may be business/career) that we deviate from our commitments in other key areas (e.g. family, spirituality). This starts off gradually and then escalates even without our awareness and so we drift.
The consequences aren’t usually pretty at all – confusion, pain and regret, unfulfilled life, etc.
In life, it is easy to drift. It is easy to neglect key areas of our life. That’s because drifting is passive and requires no effort or action on our part, but the solution is active and demands diligent effort.
The solution: Life Plan
We hear a lot about business plans, project plans, oh and, of course, vacation plans; but we don’t hear about Life Plan which is the parent of all plans as it cut across the various areas/categories of our lives.
The different areas/categories of our lives – e.g. spiritual, health & fitness, career, finance, social – aren’t compartmentalized or completely isolated from one another. That’s because failure in one area can spill into other areas just as success is one area can be visible in other areas. For example, if you don’t take care of your health, you’ll could fall ill that you can’t work effectively. In turn you can’t enjoy quality time with fam, and you’ll end up spending some money on medications if the illness is severe.
That’s why, its’s very essential to take a more holistic, top-down approach to life planning that’ll factor in every major area of life. And that’s where a Life Plan comes in.
What’s a Life Plan
According to the Living Forward book , a Life Plan is:
“A short written document created by you and for you. It describes how you want to be remembered. It articulates your personal priorities. It provides the specific actions necessary to take you from where you are to where you want to be in every major area of your life. It is most of all a living document that you will tweak and adjust as necessary for the rest of your life.”
Having a Life Plan will definitely help with:
- Maintaining a balanced life
- Identifying current realities and envisioned future
- Answering 3 powerful life questions
(i) What matters most to me? (A question of priorities)
(ii) How can I get from here to where I want to be? ( A question of progress)
(iii) What do I want to be remembered for? ( A question of legacy)
There are a number of sample Life Plan drafts in the Living Forward book if interested.
Lesson from Living Forward
The Living Forward book has transformed my life. I remember having to take immediate action to implement the strategies laid out by the authors. Although, prior to reading the book, I was already practicing thorough planning in major areas of my life but I was doing it differently than what was prescribed by the book.
Ever since I drafted my Life Plan and followed the teaching of the book, I haven’t turned back. I’ve always raved about the book and recommended this book to friends and families. In fact, in addition to the book review I’d written on the book, I also gave a talk on it at a local personal development program (I hope to share the video soon).
Live Forward into the new year
This post is just timely for this period especially as 2020 will be unveiling itself in a few days. If you find yourself experiencing symptoms of the drift described earlier in the post, then I think you need to learn and implement the tactics outlined in the Living Forward book .
Make 2020 the year you begin living each day more intentionally, more fulfilled and with a higher sense of purpose .
To your fulfilled life !!