My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [9]
When you emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually lock onto a vision of the future you want to create, you give yourself no wiggle room to hide behind excuses, insecurities, setbacks, and fears. With the right Future Picture to guide your way, you won’t allow yourself only to talk about your dreams in your pajamas. That’s because your Future Picture will be so mesmerizing that you won’t settle for less. You’ll make sure to live it because it will be exactly what you are looking for.
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BOUNCED:
I don’t know what I want to do with my life.
CASHED:
My Future Picture is so enticing, I’ll do whatever it takes to live it.
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DESTINY IS IN THE DETAILS
The details within your Future Picture are what help you commit to the life you know is possible. Details require you to think through the entire experience and concentrate on the decisions you will face. All this makes the future you want feel more within your reach. As you become familiar with the smallest details in your Future Picture, you will begin to spot those same details in your daily endeavors. They will serve as reminders of the path you are on and the destination you have chosen.
With a fully detailed Future Picture you will be able to stretch yourself with confidence toward new limits and get the most out of each adventure. Having a powerful picture of the future may seem like common sense, yet most twentysomethings, especially those feeling uninspired in the real world, have lost touch with what most brings meaning to their life. That’s a big part of why they feel stuck and unfulfilled—they don’t know where to go to find what they are missing. Answer for yourself: Where will you have your fortieth birthday party? Who will be there? What will you look like? Who will give you your first birthday kiss? What will be your favorite birthday gift?
For those of you who are still feeling unsure or skeptical about constructing a highly detailed Future Picture, I’ve found the following questions can reveal helpful clues.
ABOUT YOUR IDEAL CAREER
1. What shoes will you wear to work?
2. What will your workplace sound like at 3:00 P.M.
3. What will be your main responsibility?
4. Who will you talk most with on the phone?
5. What will you get paid annually?
ABOUT YOUR IDEAL FAMILY LIFE
1. What photos will hang in your living room?
2. What will you do with your family on Saturdays?
3. What will be the view from your front door?
4. What family tradition will you start?
5. What will your grandkids brag about you the most?
ABOUT YOUR IDEAL PERSONAL LIFE
1. How will you physically feel when you wake up?
2. How will you relax each day?
3. What book will be on your bedside?
4. What do you spend the most time doing outside of work?
5. What makes you feel most alive?
ABOUT WHAT YOUR LIFE MEANS
1. What will your friends and family say to strangers about you?
2. What is the greatest memory you will have?
3. How will you help people without showing up?
4. What will be your biggest legacy to the world?
5. What will people say at your funeral?
Some of these questions may seem straight out of left field, but each one challenges you to take another glimpse into who you are and where you want to go. The better you know yourself and your desires, the easier it is to turn them into a life of meaning. By answering these questions, you have begun to declare to yourself and the world that you are ready to live your life to its fullest!
TIME TO TAKE YOUR FUTURE PICTURE
Now that you’ve answered the questions about your ideal life, you are primed to begin crafting your personalized Future Picture. Of course, this vision for your future may change as you do, but you have to start somewhere. Remember, when it comes to your Future Picture, destiny is in the details. The more emotional, inspiring, and meaningful the picture you create, the more you will buy into it so strongly that you