It’s August, which means it’s summertime…one of the best times of the year.
And since a summer’s day offers the perfect conditions for daydreaming, I suggest you laze away a sunny afternoon (or more) blue-skying about all the things you’d like to Do, Be and Have in your life.
100 of them, in fact.
This is your chance to dream. An opportunity to open up your mind and heart to this big wide world and I-M-A-G-I-N-E what your ideal life could look like. To allow yourself to give voice to all the fun things you might like to do…the traits you’d like to have and the ways you’d like to be in the world…and the things, tangible and intangible, that you’d like to have.
This is a zero-pressure exercise! Think big. Think small. Write it all down.
That’s what makes it so fun – and so valuable. Sometimes, putting our dreams and desires down on paper actually reinforces the fact that, “Yes, I really would like to have a beach house” or “What I want more than anything is to feel more confident!”
Will everything you write down be super practical? I certainly hope not!
What I’m encouraging you to do is open the door to your hearts desire as wide as possible and write down anything that comes to mind in whatever column it fits. When you’re done, take a look at your list and see what emerges repeatedly just in different guises.
Here’s an example:
One of my clients told me that when she stepped back and looked at her completed “Do, Be, Have” list, she realized a subset of her entries – being in the mountains; loving snow; wanting to be more fit; an interest in hiking – all seemed to “go” together. As a result, she ended up planning a vacation to Colorado and loved it! Do you know what’s on her list now? She’d like to have a second home in Denver!
Seeing those patterns is what can help you define your needs and wants – not just in terms of a relationship, but for your personal fulfillment and happiness as well.
Reality check: If you were raised like I was – where the point of life was to get a good job and save for retirement (which I dutifully did for a long time, of course) – then writing this list may not be so easy at first.
So just go with that. Try jotting a few things down. If you begin to feel a little stumped, put it down and take a break. Let the idea of free-associating happen unconsciously as you go about your life. If you’d like some inspiration, perhaps leaf through a magazine and see if the pictures bring to mind anything you want to do, be or have in your life.
You’re not going to end up doing or being or having all 100 things. But given my personal experience and that of my coaching clients with this exercise, you will have some pretty amazing insights.
You know what they say, “if you build it, they will come.” So build yourself the framework for a great big life.
