Most of the time when people think about life planning and goal setting they think about what type of planner or calendar would be best to list priorities and organize tasks.
However, an effective life planning process must begin with self-awareness and self-responsibility.
Setting up plans and using a planning system, although important, is the very last step in the life planning process. Why? Because YOU are the key to your success, not your planner.
Therefore, working on becoming more self-aware today than you were yesterday is important before you begin developing goals and plans for your future.
Discovering what’s on the inside will ultimately help you develop a life plan that will lead you to a more satisfying and fulfilling life.
“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals.
The struggles within yourself,
the invisible battles inside all of us, that’s where it’s at.”
~Jesse Owens, 4-time Gold Medalist
Fulfilling your dreams…that’s your goal medal. But as Jesse Owens is saying, the discovery within is where it’s at.
The pathway to fulfilling your dreams can often be filled with fears, struggles and challenges so developing a strong sense of self-awareness and self-responsibility is where you must start.
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Exploring Self-Responsibility
On Day 7 of the 20-Day Life Planning Challenge we explore self-responsibility and the role it plays in the life planning process.
One of my favorite quotes about self-responsibility is by Albert Ellis.
He says, “the best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your [parents], the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.”
Initially you might find yourself saying, ‘of course I take responsibility for my life’. However, I would challenge you to think about whether that’s really true.
I’ve been studying self-responsibility for a few years now and I’ve become very aware of the language of those around me.
When you start to pay attention, you will find we often blame others for the circumstances and/or feelings we experience in life. Myself included.
We do it without realizing it. It’s such a societal norm (in the US at least) that it’s difficult to even see there’s a problem.
But the more self-aware you become, you’ll be able to see when you’re blaming others for your circumstances. And when you start owning your circumstances, you become more empowered to change them.
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Recognizing Your Choices
When this shift occurs, you’ll be able to recognize that you have choices, and ultimately the choices will lead to your success no matter what goals you put in your planner.
- The choice to react or not to react
- The choice to take things personally or not take things personally
- The choice to make assumptions or not make assumptions
- The choice to feel hurt or not feel hurt
- The choice to be frustrated or not be frustrated
- The choice to work hard towards a goal, the choice not to
- The choice to…(fill in the blank)
Here is a taste of the action steps the 20-Day Life Planning Challengers are completing as part of the life planning process.
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Taking Action:
- Think about the last time you reacted negatively to a situation or person:
- what did you reaction look and feel like?
- what was the result of your reaction?
- what other ways could you have reacted?
- what may have been the result for each of the other ways you could have reacted?
- if a similar situation occurs, how will you try to react?
- If I took full responsibility for my current life circumstances, I would…
- If I took full responsibility for difficulties in my life, I would…
- If I took full responsibility for my happiness, I would…
- If I took full responsibility for living my dream life, I would…
- If I took full responsibility for how I earn a living, I would…
Add your own categories and continue with this process.
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Ready to start the challenge?
If you are interested in taking the life planning process further, join the 20-Day Life Planning Challenge to develop the perfect life plan.
A well designed life planning process will help you clarify how you want to live your life now and in the future and show you how to make necessary changes to get there. The 20-Day Life Planning Challenge is designed to do exactly that. Read more HERE.
Need to find your focus and start prioritizing your life? Struggling to stay motivated?
Check-out these other LIFE PLANNING ESSENTIALS available for you to get started today. They can work wonders helping you recharge and refocus your life.
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