My girls on the malecon

You ever heard of a “Life Plan”?

I heard about it a year ago from Michael Hyatt. Last post I talked about “The Wheel of Life” which shows us the key life areas shaped like a wheel. But the Life Plan takes it down another level- more specific.

After you know your major life areas, the Life Plan helps us do a few things:

  • Create a list values to live by
  • Set standards for each key area of life
  • Plan action steps for each key area

That’s it. Simple, right? It’s so simple no one does it and that’s the problem.

I’m sure there are tons of different ways of writing a life plan. In the one from Hyatt’s website you write a plan based on what your ideal situation would be for each key area of your life. For example this is what I wrote as the ideal situation in my health section:

“I am exercising at least four days per week; including strength and aerobic training. I am eating a balanced meal and getting 7 hours of sleep daily. My cholesterol is at a good level, my energy is high, and my mind is alert. My body feels nimble, toned, and ready for combat :). My memory is sharp and I can recall names, dates, faces, and facts easily.”

The Life Plan helps us find the specific steps we can take to stay on track for whatever goals we set on those key areas.  What makes the Life Plan unique is that within each key area, there are additional categories to help us stay on track and motivated.  Staying motivated seems to be the hardest part for me.

It takes time to write a life plan, but it’s worth it.

If you are not aiming your life towards some goals or objective, you can’t complain when you haven’t accomplished anything. That’s like people who complain about the President’s policies,  but never vote.

This reminds of me something Zig Ziglar is famous for saying,

“If you aim at nothing; you’ll hit it everytime.”

Without something to focus on, how do you know where you are headed? No one plans to fail, we just fail to plan. And when we fail to plan, we prepare to lose.

Google some of the plans out there and see if any of them interest you. Find something to aim at.  You can adjust along the way, so don’t worry to much now about what to focus on. Just take the first step. The next step will become clear as you move forward.

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