Just like everyone else, you deserve success, happiness, and good health. You also deserve to be fulfilled and financially free. However, repeating the same things daily is likely not to provide you the change you so much desire. This might always kill your motivation to carry on, but you have to be optimistic about yourself.
Only you can truly create your future, and in this article, you’ll get tips on how best to do so.
Observe your thoughts
You can build your confidence by observing your thoughts. Your thoughts grow into feelings, beliefs, behaviors, habits, and finally, your reality. Basically, your thoughts determine your reality. Your thoughts also affect your confidence by bringing out any form of insecurity you’ve been harboring.
You can observe your thoughts by asking yourself the following questions: “What kind of pattern are my thoughts following?” “Are my emotions and thoughts in line with the future I envision?” “Do my thoughts affect my confidence?”
Welcome uncertainty
As much as you make plans and forecasts for your future, you should also pay attention to variables that are outside your control. Life itself is uncertain. Anything can change at any moment, and just the thought of this is enough to put a strain on your stress management and reduce your motivation to plan further.
It’s okay to make predictions and expect them to play out perfectly. That’s optimism. Nevertheless, accepting that events you never saw coming could upset your plans is smart for your goal setting.
Make a written narrative
The next step in creating the future you deserve is to write a narrative of the future life you envision for yourself. When writing your vision and predictions, be watchful not to use words that reflects and reinforces doubt in the mind such as ‘maybe,’ ‘I hope’ rather use words that show confidence like “I will” “I am” and use present tenses as though it’s already happening.
It would be best if you gave the narrative an interval. Are you expecting it to occur in the next five years or the next ten years?
Categorize your goals as detailed as possible
Now that you can tell what your future looks like, the next move is to categorize your plan into manageable units. By doing this, you can easily see each step you need to follow to get to where you want. To be able to get each subcategory of your goals, you can start by asking yourself what you need to achieve the end goal. Here are the five categories you can break your end into:
Each of these categories should have personalized subcategories. You should also ensure to write as many details as you can about these factors as they are the significant factors that influence your motivation and the outcome of your desired future.
Make quarterly plans and targets.
While it is great to focus on the long-term plan, it is also essential to place your plan’s subcategories into quarterly targets. This helps you manage your accomplishment of the end goal. Depending on the magnitude of your plan, you can make five to ten quarterly plans to help with stress management and give you the motivation to go on.
Your quarterly plans should also include savings for your plans. Your goal setting comprises of your savings. You can’t make plans without putting money aside to execute them along the way. Therefore, you should section out what your quarterly plan will cost and save according to their costs.
Review and make adjustments where necessary
When you’re done making your plans, it doesn’t mean it’s time to sit back and relax. As we mentioned earlier, you have to understand that uncertainties could arise from anywhere, which is why you need to continually review your plan to know if you have to make modifications based on varying factors. You do this at the end of three months – you check to see if your projections are still possible, needs to be adjusted, or ultimately canceled.
After you review, the next thing to do is return to each subcategory to decide what you need to do next. Doing this helps you know what subcategory of goal you need to face for the next quarter. As your cycle of goal setting changes, so should your review change. Each quarter can bring with it failure or success, and you have to be ready to embrace any of the two.
