Success means different things for different people. Heck, success means different things for the same person at different times! So how do you know what is your definition of success?
When I started out, being able to free motion quilt in a fluid pattern (no kinks) was success for me. When I got that, making a quilt that will be accepted in a show became my definition of success. Then it was making a quilt that actually will win a prize some day. My definition of success has been evolving for as long as I can remember.
When we are making plans for our future, how do we know if the goals we have set will be what success will mean to us? How can we be sure that all the efforts of attaining our goals are not going to waste just because we got our definition of success wrong? Believe me, that can happen.
Today, I am going to give you a small exercise.
To begin with, take a bunch of papers and a nice pen that you love. Find a well-lit place you are comfortable in and sit down. You can burn a candle that you love too. It helps in calming you down. Turn your phone on silent mode (better, turn it off altogether). You need to be in peace when you are working on this exercise.
Now, read the question and close your eyes to look for the answer. Answer as detailed as you can. Do not keep your answer limited to your business. Health, relationships, finances, spirituality are equally important. Think about your life as a whole as you look for the answer.
If you have unlimited resources, what will your life look like?
Once you can see a clear picture, open your eyes and immediately write down what you saw. Add as many details as you can. What was your house like? What kind of car did you own? What did you wear? How did you look? What were you doing? What was your business like? Write everything you envisioned.
Take each aspect of your life and write what your successful self was like in that aspect.
- Health
- Marriage
- Kids
- Family & Friends
- Finances
- Business
- Spirituality
Now, it is time to analyze how you felt when you imagined your future self. What were your exact feelings at that time?
Why did you feel like that? Why is it so important? What will happen if what you imagined doesn't come true? How will you feel then? How much will it matter?
Answering all these questions will give you a better vision about what you want. You will have a clearer picture with every answer that you write.
Now, go get yourself a glass of water. Or go for a walk. You can even take a day off before you work on the next exercise. I want you to give yourself time to let everything that you saw sink in. I want you to dwell over it. I want you to imagine that successful life again and again.
Sit down again and write a letter from your future self to you. What would the successful you tell the younger, struggling you?
Offer guidance, words of encouragement, motivation, suggestions anything that you can. How can your future self help you go from where you are to where she is?
Have you ever looked out of your windows and not seen them get dirtier, but when you wash them you realize how much your vision was murkier. This exercise helps you clean the windows of your mind.
It is a spiritual experience. Enjoy it. If you are not good with words, just write the important stuff. Writing will only help you remember what you saw better. The magic is in the visualization.
When you try the exercise, do let me know how it went. Did it help you? Could you see your success better than before? I would love to know!
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