Sorry the blog has been less consistent this month. Some of my college homework and projects are more intense than I anticipated. I also just got over having some kind of intestinal virus from either dirty ice cubes or bad water in a restaurant or something. I also had a houseful of people here all weekend. Although today will be super busy working on school, I didn't want to neglect keeping in touch with all of you.
Today I'm going to expand a bit on a topic I selected for a speech and slide show presentation I'm giving tomorrow in Public Speaking class. I'm going to recommend the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Dr. Stephen Covey. It's a life changing book if you really dig into it. The audio book if actually done by him is also very good. Anyway, in the book about the 7 habits, there is one that really stands out, Habit 2, Begin with the End in Mind. What does that mean? It means to start every day with either a vision of where you want to be, what destination you're trying to reach, what goals you would set for yourself. Then, breaking it down backwards, figuring out a plan or a map to get you headed in the right direction, then breaking it down to baby steps to get you moving towards your destination. It's about developing a habit of choosing something to do every day to move you closer to where you want to be.
This works in many areas of life:
1. Relationships - Figure out what you want your relationships to look like, what your marriage could become if you gave it the attention it deserves, etc. Then work towards that in the way you speak, act, think towards others, and how you treat them.
2. Livelihood - Do you want a dream job? To own your own business? To turn a hobby into an income producing vehicle for you? Figure it out, learn what you need to do that, and begin moving in that direction.
3. Lifestyle - Are you financially strapped? Have you wanted to travel but never got around to it? Are you trying to find a way to spend more time at home with your family? Would you rather live somewhere else in the country? or in the world? Figure out what your perfect life would look like, then work your map backwards so your baby steps will get you there - once you start making intentional decisions.
You don't have to wait decades just to end up saying, "How did I get stuck here?" You can start today making the changes necessary to make your dreams come true. And yes, this works well even if your goal is to be a minimalist, or just live a more simple life. How else will you ever rid yourself of the unnecessary to pursue what you'd really enjoy doing with your time and money and those you love? Read that book. Best of luck on your journey.
