Most people are going to be in the same place in 90 days as they are right now. In fact, most people will be in nearly the same place in one, three, and five years.
Most people are living day-to-day.
They aren’t actively sprinting toward new and exciting futures.
They aren’t looking back and being blown away by all that has recently happened.
They aren’t becoming more and more confident by the evidence all around them that they are powerfully designing their ideal life.
You can do this, though.
Every 90 days, you can watch as your life expands and transforms before your eyes.
You can watch as your health, income, relationships, time, and happiness all improve.
This is the best way to live. It’s why you are here and what will bring you joy.
Dan Sullivan, the founder of Strategic Coach, has a simple four-question exercise that:
- Gives you a sense of joy and pride for what you’ve accomplished
- Confidence about what you’re currently focusing on
- Excitement about what your future holds
- Clarity about the few things that really matter
Here are the 4 questions, and how you can use them:
Last 90 Days
“Winning Achievements? Looking back over the past quarter, what are the things that make you the proudest about what you have achieved?” — Dan Sullivan
Take two minutes and write down all of the things that have happened in your life over the past 90 days.
What are the personal and professional goals you’ve accomplished?
It’s crazy, but if you take a few minutes to simply reflect on what has happened in your life, you’ll realize that far more has happened than you remember.
It’s easy to get caught-up in the day-to-day.
It’s easy to be focused on the here and now.
But taking just two minutes to reflect on the past 90 days will blow your mind by all that has happened.
Even more, when you get better at structuring your time and focusing on only those things which matter to you, you will get better at accomplishing huge goals every 90 days.
90 day goal cycles are perfect for making huge progress and then reflecting on what you did, and then making better plans for the following 90 days.
You can get to the point where every 90 days you’re achieving more than most people achieve in a year. Or five years.
Right Now
“What’s Hot? When you look at everything that’s going on today, which areas of focus and progress are making you the most confident?” — Dan Sullivan
Confidence is a byproduct of having a life you’re proud of and excited about.
Take two minutes and make a list of the things in your life that give you confidence about what you’re doing right now.
Don’t filter or edit yourself.
If you’re continuously moving forward in your life, then the things you’re focused on right now should be quite different from the things you were focused on three–to-six months ago.
You should have made some huge progress in the past 90 days, which opened up new doors.
Every 90 days, you could be focusing on bigger and more interesting projects.
Your life can continuously look different and better.
Your workouts could be different and more powerful.
Your health and fitness could be better — allowing you to feel better and have more energy.
You could be making more money.
You could have deeper and more profound connections and relationships.
These things give you a sense of confidence, because you can see by your current reality that you’ve made progress. Indeed, without progress, you can’t have confidence.
But if you’re continually stretching and creating bigger and better future, then you’ll be in a constant space of growth.
If you’re growing and stretching, then your life will continue to get better.
Your present reality will look quite different every three, six, nine, and 12 months.
The quality of your life and your time will be different.
The quality of your thoughts and habits will be better.
You’ll be able to look at your current life, work, projects, health, income, routines, relationships, emotions and feel a huge sense of accomplishment.
You can feel confident by the life you have.
This confidence, coupled with the increased sense of morale you’ll have gained by reflecting on the achievements of the prior 90 days will be a huge boost.
You’ll begin feeling amazing.
Next 90 Days
“Bigger and Better? Now, looking ahead at the next quarter, what new things are giving you the greatest sense of excitement? — Dan Sullivan
Is the future you’re sprinting toward exciting for you?
It should and could be.
It’s exciting to pursue greater growth and possibilities than you’ve ever had before.
According to Dan Sullivan, “If you are constantly making your life busier, ten you are avoiding the future. If you are bored, then you’ve run out of future.”
How big is your current future?
How big are the next 90 days?
Do they excite you with all you’re going to experience and achieve?
Will you have to step way outside your current comfort zone to achieve all you want to?
Will you have to learn an enormous amount?
Take two minutes to write down all of the things you’re currently excited about. These should be both personal and professional.
What are the experiences you’re going to create?
What are you going to learn and master?
What are the achievements you’re going to have?
What are the doors that are going to open?
90-Day Jumps
“What are the five new ‘jumps’ you can now achieve that will make your next 90 days a great quarter regardless of what else happens?” — Dan Sullivan
Take two minutes to list five new jumps that if you achieved in the next 90 days, you’d be happy with your progress.
What five things would make the biggest impact on your future?
What five accomplishments would be the most thrilling and exciting to pursue?
Conclusion
You’ve just taken 10 minutes to reflect on the previous 90 days, right now, and the next 90 days.
What would happen in your life if you did this every 90 days?
What would happen for you if you set huge ambitions and built your life around making those things real?
How much could your life change every 90 days?
If you did this consistently, how wildly different could your life be in 12 months?
Or 24 months?
Or five years?
Success isn’t rocket-science. It’s about getting really clear on what you want, and pursuing only those things.
It’s about feeling a sense of accomplishment and confidence about what you’ve done, and using that confidence to create motivation to pursue bigger and better futures.
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Originally published at medium.com