Is your life a dream or a nightmare?
Today (19th October 2018) is Evaluate Your Life Day. Perfect time to consider whether your life is a Dream or a Nightmare.
If I asked 100 people if they were living a life they really love, chances are that 90 would say it could be better. If I asked 100 people the same question after they experienced a major event in their life, I’m guessing more of them would say their life was fulfilling & enjoyable.
It’s very common for people to take stock of their life after a big event. It’s like a wake up call or a kick up the bum. They suddenly realise that they are not going to live forever & they often feel they have wasted time doing things they didn’t really want to – things that didn’t make them happy or bring them joy.
What sort of events can create this realisation? It could be a redundancy, a serious illness (themselves or a loved one), a financial crisis or the death of a loved one. For me it was the sudden loss of my husband. He was 54 & I was 53. Many things went through my head. For a start I was facing my own mortality. How long did I have left on this earth & I wanted to achieve more than I had up to that point. My journey is another story but what I want you to know is that you don’t have to wait for a major event – you can change your life at any time – including today.
So how do you start? The first & in my opinion, the most important step is to make the choice to change & be willing to follow through with action. You could make two lists.
List one includes all the things in your life that you love & would want to keep. You don't want to get rid of the things that are working. List 2 is all the things in your life that don’t make you happy, joyous & fulfilled. Look very carefully at this second list. There will probably be a lot of things that you could easily drop from your life so start with those, identify why you do them. You might be doing them simply because they are a habit in which case just make the decision to stop. You could also be doing things to please others or to keep the peace. These are a little trickier to eliminate but remember that the choice is yours & you need to be in the driving seat of your life, not someone else. Start saying no more often when others ask you to do something that you don’t want to do.
Inevitably there will also be things on your list that are much harder to change. For example if you hate your job, it’s not practical to simply resign but you could create a plan to transition to something that you would really love to do. If you are unhappy in a relationship, breaking it off is a really big step but staying is never going to make you happy. Again you might need a plan to reach the ultimate goal of leaving. You deserve to be happy & sticking it out in an unhappy relationship will almost certainly be a regret later in life. Sometimes you need to make the tough decisions to provide a long term gain.
Another powerful question you could ask yourself is “If this was my last day on earth, what would I regret”. This will include things you DID do or more commonly things you DIDN’T do. The things you will regret not doing are the things you need to start doing right now. Have you got a Bucket List? If not start one.
11 Questions to Evaluate Your Life
What do I want to experience in life if time & money were not an issue?
How do I want to grow?
What do I want to contribute to this world?
Who am I? Why am I here?
Where am I going? How do I want to be remembered when I’m gone?
If I achieve all my life’s goals, how would I feel? How can I feel that along the way?
What is most important in my life? What do I value the most? What am I most passionate about?
What brings me the most joy & sense of peace in my life?
What does a successful life look like for me?
What do others most admire in me? What unique gifts do I want to share with the world? What are my top 5 values? Ask 5 people who know you well?
What are my top 10 achievements in life so far?
These are just a few strategies to take stock of your current life. Make an appointment with yourself, find a relaxing spot with your favourite drink & give yourself the gift of time just for you to Evaluate Your Life. If you aren't already a member on my Facebook page (the link is below), I'd love for you to join our community & maybe you could share what happened when you took the time to Evaluate Your Life. If you don't want family & friends to see your posts then why not join our closed group. It's called Real Self Love with Pam B (the link is below).
Pam Bailey helps women feel good about themselves every day.
She is a Conscious Eating Coach, Essential Oils Expert, Nutritionist, Life Coach & Heal Your Life Workshop Facilitator.
She has a particular passion for concerns around body image & unwanted eating habits along with stress management. She is also a Global Ambassador for the Body Image Movement.
Pam is an International Keynote speaker & workshop leader, online & in person.
For more information contact Pam on 0409 989 260 or via email info@pambailey.net
You can follow Pam on Facebook here
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