DESIGNING YOUR LIFE DESIGN THE LIFE YOU WANT

DESIGNING YOUR LIFE

DESIGN THE LIFE YOU WANT GET READY GET GOING GET REAL GET ON WITH IT!

ENGINEER AUNT SHORT BABYSITTER WIFE BLONDE MOTHER MARRIED DIVORCED SINGLE WHITE SINGLE MOM STEPMOM GRAMA DAUGHTER SISTER THE BABY FRIEND STUDENT NIECE GIRL TOMBOY BRAT CURIOUS PROJECT MANAGER SILLY LOW INCOME SUPERINTENDENT FEARLESS MIDDLE CLASS RECKLESS RICH EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT SMART SPOILED GYMNAST DRIVEN HIGHJUMPER SCARY LOUD INTENSE OPINIONATED NOT ENOUGH LEADER TOO MUCH ALOOF FLIRTY DIRECTOR HEAD OF ENGINEERING BOARD MEMBER RETIRED L&D DIRECTOR GARDENER BAKER

• What is in your head? • Knowledge • What is in your hands? • Wealth • What is in your heart? • Time • Spirituality • Leisure • Family • Mastery • Trust • Career • Service • Love • Creativity • Travel • Unity • Simplicity • Wonder • Justice • Optimism • Power • Serenity • Transparency • Caring

To determine your values • Find a tool or method that you like • Complete the exercise • Test out the results for a few days or weeks • Is that how you act? Ask your family and friends if they fit • Make tweaks to the 5 or 6 or keep them as they are • Now on to dreaming!

A few quick stories: That boy is so cute! High school, college, job, married, family – DIVORCE? !? I want to get as far as I can living my life according to my values

“So tell me what you want what you really want” Spice Girls Pick a tool – any tool Vision Board What is my life like 20 years from now? What do I want to accomplish this year? What is that one big, scary, audacious thing? What would they say about me in my obituary? Take the time by yourself to work the tool. Did you draw a picture, create a list of goals, are you still staring at the blank page or not found a tool you like? Wherever you have landed take the next step.

What do you need to get what you want? Do you need education/training? Who is going to help and support you? How much is it going to cost? How long is it going to take? When do you want to have it done? Does it have to be done sequentially?

If this is already a strength for you go back and critique some of your previous plans. If this is not a strength for you – Start small, pick something you do fairly regularly to practice documenting the steps in a calendar. As an example – plan out what you are doing this Sunday from the time you get up until you go to bed. Go about your day, note the activities as they happen, satisfied with how it went? Did it take longer or shorter than expected? How did what you do compare to the plan? What did you learn that you want to apply on your next planning endeavor?

Stating the obvious: You’ve created the plan now DO IT!

Did you make that Sunday plan and put it in the calendar? Or did you critique a previous plan? Yes – Great! The first step of get going is complete No – Great! You’ve learned something! What got in the way? Do you know how to remove that obstacle? You already had Sunday and next week planned out to the hour or worked on the critique of a previous plan? – Great! You’re get going step was to complete the first item. Did it happen as expected? On time? Did it take as long as you thought?

Get Ready: Plan – based on your vision with clear steps, resources and timing Get Going: Move it! – you did what you did Get Real: How does it compare? Was you plan clear enough for you to compare what happened versus what you planned to have happen? Did your plan and actions get you what you wanted? Did you achieve your vision/goal?

As an example – a few weeks or a month from now - Lets use the values exercise 5 or 6 values you landed on to check out how you are living them. Draw two clocks – one for am and one for pm Use the clocks to show you spend your hours in the day. Assign you values to each of the activities. The week could be very different than the weekend so you may want to do both. How does that compare to how you would like to spend your time based on your values? Do all your values have time spent against them? Do some activities not have values? What changes if any would you like to make?

Afternoon/Evening Mornings Sleep walk the dog work breakfast lunch fun dinner relax sleep

One last story – Leaving University of Alabama to come home and go to Purdue Calumet

Sunday Schedule or Values Exercise What needs to change? All, part, none of it? Do you understand why it needs to change? What do you control versus what you influence in the plan? Do you know how to change it? Do you need help with time management, planning, motivation? Do you need help to change it? Who supports you? GET READY

Your dreams are within your power to make reality – Michelle Layman – redefined 50@gmail. com