My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [12]
Once you have a Future Picture—perfectly clear or a work in progress—you are ready to take the actions that will provide the confidence, insight, and experiences you need to get there. With each step you take toward your Future Picture, your next step will become clearer. Take enough steps forward, and you put your reality check back in check.
Here are some inspiring real-life examples.
Twenty-three-year-old Carrie always thought she wanted to be a TV reporter. She worked hard and landed an internship at a small news station. Soon it became clear that being a TV reporter wasn’t right for her. At first, she was bummed out, but then she tried some other positions at the news station and realized she loved directing. Now she’s changed her major and is working her contacts to land a position as an assistant to a director upon graduation.
Tanya, twenty-nine, always thought she wanted a man with a wild streak who liked to be spontaneous and challenge authority. She dated lots of these guys and then realized that, while they were fun for a short time, the sparkle always wore off. So she took a chance and started dating a highly disciplined guy in the army. He was basically the exact opposite of all her previous relationships. They were married six months later.
Arnold, twenty-eight, had been overweight since he returned to grad school. He just couldn’t muster the strength to get in shape with so much school work to be done. After his graduation, he was complaining about his weight, so his wife suggested he stop making excuses and join a running club. He had never been much of a runner and was worried that the other people might laugh at him or, worse, leave him behind. He finally gave in and went on one run with a local running club. Eighteen months later he had lost thirty pounds and completed his first half marathon!
Joe was raised in a strict, conservative religious family, but he never felt complete with his spiritual connection. At twenty-four, he decided that there had to be something out there for him, so he cashed in his savings and flew to India with only a picture of the place he wanted to visit. He credits that one adventure, more than going to college or grad school or moving out on his own or having his first real job, as the most personally defining experience of his twenties.
DREAM IT. TEST IT. BELIEVE IT. LIVE IT.
The bigger and bolder your Future Picture the more effort and creativity it will require for you to reach it. This may seem scary at first, but it will grow to become inspiring because the challenges to reaching your Future Picture are a big part of what makes living it so meaningful. Whether your Future Picture is bold or basic, you probably won’t reach it tomorrow, this week, or even this year. But every day you reach for it you move closer to getting there. It’s these daily, incremental baby steps that are critical to positioning you for life-changing breakthroughs.
However, I understand that you may not be overly thrilled to take lots of baby steps to get where you ultimately want to go. So as a twentysomething who appreciates the power of instant gratification, I’ve created Reality Check Challenge 1 to show you what’s in store if you stay faithful to your dreams. Complete this challenge, and you can touch your future in the present.
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REALITY CHECK CHALLENGE
GOAL: Sample with all your senses how rewarding your Future Picture will feel.
TASK: If your vision for your future hinges on financial freedom, I challenge you to test-drive the most expensive car you can or to tour a mega-million-dollar mansion that is for sale. If your Future Picture consists of you having a loving and happy family, I challenge you to volunteer at a local elementary school or nursing home. If your