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Take Back the Momentum of Your Life

By: Tim Draayer
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:39:55
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Life can provide challenge and joy, but it can also be very difficult. The times of joy provide the vim and vigor that causes us to excel in life, but what about those times when we find ourselves absorbed in mediocrity? It is in these times and from that time on that I feel it is imperative that one asks themselves the questions necessary to rise above the lows and live again.

Take Inventory

Deciding to take inventory of your wants, dreams, successes and failures will help you to pinpoint exactly where the problem areas are in your life. Below I have listed five questions, which are to be the beginning of this introspective look at what you are feeling about your life. Read each question; take a moment to think on each one and then write down anything that comes to mind. Start with the actual answers to the questions and then move on to the changes that you want to make. Feel free with your writing and jot down anything else that comes to mind, especially if your thoughts are bringing up more questions.

• Have I permitted the habit of procrastination to decrease my efficiency, and if so, to what extent?
• Have I improved my personality, and if so, in what ways?
• Have I been guilty of any conduct not approved of by my conscience?
• Have I been unfair to anyone, and if so, in what why?
• Am I in the right vocation?

If these questions inspire more, answer them as well. Never confine yourself to a certain set of questioning. The more questions that you ask yourself the better chance you will have at defining exactly what it is that will make you happy.

Goal Setting

Now, up to this point you have a written dialogue in your hands of a number of changes that you would like to make regarding different aspects of your life. The next step is to take some time to develop these answers into clearly defined goals and then act on them. Begin taking steps toward your goals now while the iron is hot so to speak and strive to see them through.

One of the first things to do is to grab another clean sheet of paper and re-write those ideas that you have now developed into goals. Write them down, but write them in the form of a goal that has already been achieved and then display them somewhere that you will come across them often (your computer desk or even the fridge).

Lets say that you work in a factory, and you do not enjoy your work at all. There is no satisfaction, and you just seem to drudge through the day until you can go home. Based on the last question and some thought you decide that its time to find a different job, one that suits you.

Next, you define the set of goals that it will take to discover and then get the job that will add value to your life and purpose. With those goals in mind, the last step is to add that goal to your list of goals, and state it as if it has already happened. For the sake of the example, imagine that you have pinpointed graphic design to be your calling. Your re-written statement might look something like this: I love my job and I am much happier. I am thankful to work for a great web design firm and to be able to put my creative senses to work.

Think Positive

Be positive!

The goals that you have written and now re-written, tailored to express what you want for yourself are only the first step. The second step is to act on them and begin making your dreams come true, but there is a final action to consider and that is to maintain a positive attitude. Negative thoughts will only return negative to you so always cultivate a positive outlook and project that to the world around you.

We all have days that we feel down and out and it will be on those days that your mettle is tested. In answer to those negative thoughts, repeat the positive affirmations that you have written out as many times as needed. Your ability to strike down that negativity will grow and you will find that as you continue the process daily you will come to believe in these things and assimilate them. They will become a part of you and you will act on them as if they were always a part of your nature.

Again, it is important that you focus on questions like the ones above, and design goals that are personal and relevant to you. After you have done that, write them down, stating them to sound as if they have already occurred. Finally, you must, must, must act on them immediately and focus on them as well as staying positive. By doing this you will be placing, the advantage into your own hands and you succeed if you truly desire for them to become real. This however does not mean that your journey is through. After having succeeded, it is time to take a step back and re-evaluate your life again. Begin the process again always mindful of the joy that you have and foresee yourself obtaining.

Tim Draayer is a netoworker, network marketer, and author of Live Your Best Life. He is a studen in business, marketing, and life who enjoys sharing what he has learned with others. If you'd like to see more of his work you can read it on his website at http://bestlife.typepad.com/actionsteps

If you would like to contact him he can be reached at tldtim@charter.net

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