There are two components to being, doing and having what you want in life. Number 1 is that you need to know what you want, and Number 2 is putting in the time and effort into the things that will get you there.
So, do you see the problem for most people?
Firstly, most people have no idea what they want. Sure, they may say things like “I want to be happy.” Or “I want to be rich.” Or, probably any number of broad, wishy-washy statements like that.
Without the specifics such as exactly what does “being happy” look like, how much is “rich”, it would be impossible to reach those end states.
Secondly, even if someone is super-clear on what they want to achieve, has defined exactly what they want, with a specific target, the next barrier to achieving that outcome, is to where they dedicate their resources. And by resources, I mean their focus, their energy and their time.
Most people don’t pay attention to where, or on what, they are spending those precious resources. Think about it. Most people will put in more time and effort in planning a weekend away than they do in planning the life they would love to have.
When working with clients, and where they say things like “I just don’t have the time”, I give them a task to complete for a week. I give them a timesheet. It’s broken down into 15-minute timeslots where they need to capture what they are doing for each of those timeslots.
Why is this useful?
It works the same way as a food diary – where if someone is looking to lose weight, for example, they write down everything they eat and drink throughout the day. By the end of the week, they get a very clear picture of exactly what they are consuming. It’s not to embarrass them. Its so that they can see what is actually going on, so any bad habits can be addressed.
The timesheet activity does the same but it brings to the client’s awareness and acknowledgement of exactly where they are spending their time. Again, it’s not to embarrass them, but it’s to give them clear data from which they can start to make different choices as to where they want to invest their energy and their time.
I’m being deliberate in choosing to use the word “invest”. Time, just like money, can spent it or it can be invested. So, Number 1 – have a clear idea of what you want in life. And Number 2 – take a look at where your focus is, where your effort is, and where you time is. Is what you are doing today getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow?
