It kind of helps that my partner and I are in the process of building our new house and perhaps that's where the correlation between the two took seed. There is so much that goes into planning a new house, it can be overwhelming. Just like planning your future. You start to think about what you want, what you want to do, who you want to be and all the beautiful things you want to have and then the overwhelm sets in. Well, where do I start and will I be good enough and do I deserve this and insert self-sabotaging story here.
The key to building and any future we are creating is to have a solid foundation. The aesthetics come along later. If we don't have a solid foundation, a base, a platform to stabilise the building, then sooner or later our building will fall over. It's only a question of when. When I think of how this relates to building your future, it means that you have a good grasp on who you are, what you stand for, what you won't stand for, what your core values are, what your beliefs about the world are, what your core needs are, what your non-negotiables are. All the things that relate to the core of YOU!
Once you have a good grasp on who you are, then you can start to focus on the construction of your future. Take yourself out to completion, what does your end "building" look, feel and sound like? What gets you excited, motivated, fired up? What do you stand for? What will you no longer tolerate? What's your ideal average day like? Who are you spending your time with? How have you grown and stretched? What are you learning and how are you fuelling your brain? What have you done to have constant and never ending improvement in your life? What do you do for creativity? How do you express yourself? What is important in your world?
Begin with the end in mind. From there you can come back to your foundation and start to put in the framework. What goals are you reaching for in the next 90, 180 days, 1 year, 2 years and 5 years? Follow the process of beginning with the end in mind. See it, feel it, hear it. Notice what's going on around you when you have these things in your life. Write them down or draw them or speak into your iphone and record it. Whatever it takes. Capture it. Capture the emotion, the visuals, the sounds. Hold that tight. Make it come alive. Let it be bold and vivid. Wild. This is what will form the framework of your house of life!
Once you have your framework ie goals sorted, then it's time to think about your medium. What are the bricks you need to lay? What structure do you need to put into place to help you achieve your desired goals? What do you need to do every day? How does your ideal average day of the future relate to your ideal day now? What do you need to start doing? What do you need to keep doing? What do you need to finish doing as it's no longer serving you and your purpose?
The windows of your house are your dreams and your vision. You can look out and see what's ahead of you. Keep dreaming. Always. Each and every day. Even on the days you feel like there's no hope and you can't see the forest for the trees. Keep your dream alive. Look at it. Listen to it. Feel it. Constantly remind yourself why it is you are doing what you are doing. Create beautiful vision boards to remind yourself of your future. Look at them often and dream!
The door is your way in and your way out. In relation to your house, it's the exit and entry strategy. How long are you going to continue with your plan? What time frame have you set? What's your strategy? How will you know when you've arrived?
The roof is what holds it all together. It encases the building. It protects the inside. It keeps the rain out. Nothing beats the sound of rain on a tin roof! A tiled roof just doesn't cut it! Your roof is your affirmations, the things you tell yourself. Your own words of encouragement and empowerment to you. The words with impact. Guts. Strength. The ones that bring out your inner courage. The ones that help you get out of bed on the days you just want to stay in there and hide from reality. The ones that give yourself that kick up the backside on the days you need it. The ones that say "hey you did a great job today". The ones that say "you are whole and complete". The ones that say "I love you for who you are and who you are becoming".
Your house has reached the lock-up stage. It's secure. It's tight. It's sturdy.Foundation, frames, bricks, roof, windows and doors. You may even have a key to the front door now so you can pop in to see what's happening on the inside..... Except when you go inside, it's an empty shell. It's time then to put in the walls, some paint, some tiles, some carpet, some colour. What effort do you need to put in? What's your action plan? What's your plan for constant and never-ending improvement? What are your daily, weekly, monthly action steps? What positive and empowering emotions are you choosing for yourself every day? How are you educating yourself? How are you going to colour your future? What colour scheme are you going to use? Is it time for the beige to go and to let a more vibrant side shine through? Is it a focus on self or business or relationships or health or family or education or fun? Or an emulsion of all, each with their own special part to play. Interweaving and intertwining.
Then comes the best part! The decorating. Choosing the furniture, the art, the colour scheme to bring your building alive. The perfect opportunity to let your personal touches shine through. In building your future, this relates to who you spend your time with, who you model, how are you growing and contributing, what kinds of conversations are you having? How are you educating yourself? What's the next step? How are you bringing fun into your days? What new things are you trying? What boundaries are you pushing with yourself? What limits are you breaking?
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