If you read my last blog (What Must You Remember from the Last Decade?), it suggested reflecting on the highs in your life during last ten years. This analysis would then serve to unlock understanding as what could give us the greatest satisfaction for the next decade. If you’ve done the due diligence, you got to relive some awesome memories, and now have prepared yourself mentally for what you will crave 2020 onwards.
Why Do the Research?
There are times I can’t decide what coffee I want from Starbucks. Should I get my usual or the holiday flavor of the week (because it’s the holidays!)? The purpose of doing the previous decade research is to glean insight into ourselves. In our busy lives, it’s hard to decide what we should want versus what society tells us we should want, for our goals or “happiness.”
It’s not just as a matter of recognizing our accomplishments but rather noting which elements made us happy. By looking at what happened over a decade, only you can decide which outcomes/situations were the best. It is that personal perspective that you must tap into!
I can guarantee that if you let someone else analyze your life, they may choose different elements as a measure of your success/happiness. No matter the subject, if you use someone else’s parameters on what “happiness or success” looks like (whether it’s well meaning family members or respected mentors), you will reach your destination and then wonder why you don’t feel the elation you expected to feel.
But by doing the analysis yourself, you effectively have created a road-map of what you value.
Which Road to Travel?
Once you have a clear understanding of what you value, you can decipher your deepest, unachieved, desires.
Now, instead of an arbitrary list of successful endeavors, random pursuits, or vacation hotspots to hit as your “decade” goals, your list can have real meaning to YOU! And now, it has even a greater chance at coming true because inherently, it already reflects your values and what you prioritize instinctively. By asking yourself these types of questions, these values can help you outline the next era of possibilities:
- What experiences do you want to have?
- What relationships do you want to strengthen?
- Is there something you want to achieve? Why? What will that give you?
- Do you want to build a certain reputation or leave a powerful legacy?
- Explore goals for the elements you value: (e.g., relationships, health, reputation, community, travel, experiences, charity, etc.)
This is also the time to lay out and intend broad-scale shifts for yourself. Other elements to consider:
- What type of person do you want to be in the next decade?
- Do you want to show more compassion, more enthusiasm, or more joy?
- Do you want to be a better friend? A better spouse? A more understanding parent/child?
- Do you want to take better care of yourself?
Is Anything Possible?
The beauty of a decade looking forward is that the possibilities are endless. You don’t have to worry about your “current situations,” and what might be holding you back today so release yourself! There are no handcuffs on your mind. Time is suddenly on your side. Just explore. Just allow yourself to think big and think creatively. Believe truly that anything IS possible.
Keep your goals soft and fluid. Use your feelings as a guide. More is achieved in our moments of passionate thought towards a genuine desire than creating a lifetime of lists. Feel your goals, don’t just list them. Feel your achievement, don’t just relish it superficially. Feel your joy.