New Year’s resolutions can be both inspiring and disheartening. It’s often a challenge to maintain the focus and energy to bring them to pass, especially if you’re challenged with ADD/ADHD symptoms.
This is part 1 of a series of posts on “Life Visioning and Goal Setting.”
Finding Your “Fuel”
Making any kind of meaningful and lasting change in your life requires energy — the fuel to make it happen. For most of us, this motivation comes in one of two ways: inspiration for something we want to accomplish, or reaction, catalyzed by a situation that is causing us some kind of suffering or discomfort.
The proactive approach consists of harnessing the energy generated from an inspired vision — how you’d like your life to be. The reactive approach involves waiting until a major health issue or personal tragedy forces you to make changes. Both methods work, and both are effective.
However, only one of them offers freedom of choice.
Long-Term Goals in Specific Areas of Your Life
When it comes to life visioning and setting attainable goals, it can be helpful to work within specific categories. Otherwise, the process can be vague and overwhelming.
So, in order to provide context, here’s a list of “life categories” I’ve adapted from Sonia Choquette’s book, “Your Heart’s Desire.”
- Health and Body
- Work
- Relationships
- Creative Expression
- Finances
- Service
- Spirituality
- Home
- Travel / Adventure
- Possessions
Exercise: Where I’d Like to Be In…
For each of the above “life categories,” write out a list of specific goals you would like to achieve in the next five years. Project yourself out five years from now. Where would you like to be? What does your life look like? Write whatever comes to you. It may be helpful to phrase each one in the form of: “I am now…” or, “I have…”
For example:
(Work) I am now working four days a week out of my home and making $4500.00 a month.
(Travel / Adventure) I have traveled extensively throughout Europe.
This list provides you with potential long-term goals. However, there may be a few others that didn’t quite fit into any of these categories.Take a moment and write out any other long-term goals you may have. When you’re done, look through what you’ve written. Spend a little time refining your wording so that it clearly describes each intention.
Think of this list as a living document. It will grow and evolve over time. It is not stagnant. Continually revisit this list and refine it.
Next week’s article: Moving From Long-Term Goals to Short-Term Goals.
This is an excerpt from the book The Drummer & The Great Mountain – A Guidebook to Transforming Adult ADD / ADHD – Chapter 6: “Life Visioning.” Photo by Georges Jansoone. Source: Wikimedia Commons.