You Can Have a 95% Chance at Achieving Your Goals in 2020.
“My Life Didn’t Please me — so I created my Life” — Coco Channel.
We all have the power to create purpose. If we are to believe the words of the great Dr. Martin Luther King who defined power as “the ability to achieve purpose” — then we can believe that we can create an intentionally designed life.
In my new book Holistic Wealth: 32 Life lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity and Happiness, I’ve basically laid out a framework for living an intentionally designed life. As we head into a new year and decade this is essential if we want to live a life, well lived. This takes a combination of several strategies and a change in our mindset. I call this the Holistic Wealth Mindset ™ and it is derived from the Holistic Wealth Method™, which I also developed. The Holistic Wealth Mindset views setbacks as only temporary not permanent and includes a life’s mission in the definition of success. Here are 10 ways to live an intentionally designed life in 2020:
1. Have A Personal Mission
Holistic Wealth is about creating an intentionally designed life. In order to do so its very important to have a personal mission statement. To create an intentionally designed life, its important to get proactive about what matters to you. A clear mission based on your personal, unique values will help provide direction in your life– its like a life plan to move forward with a clear mission and vision in front of you. Think of it this way: If you were a spectator at your own funeral, what would you want your friends and family to remember you for most? What moments would you be most proud of? Your personal mission statement is a powerful way to shape the answers to these questions. In my book Holistic Wealth, I give a number of examples of personal mission statements from various experts, that can serve as a guide to help you to undertake writing your own personal mission statement.
2. Don’t Compare Yourself To Others
Comparing ourselves to others is one of the most toxic things we can do, especially when were trying to outline a mission and vision for ourselves. When you are aligned with your passion and purpose (and personal mission), you never have to compare yourself with anyone else again. You may not be where you want to be in life just yet — but know that when you are taking baby steps to make your goals a reality and to live an intentionally designed life — you are definitely on track to live the life you envision.
3. Take Measured Risks
When we encounter a life-altering setback we often fear taking risks. However, taking some measured risks are imperative to achieving holistic wealth. Too many people become paralyzed by fear and take no action at all when it comes to living their dreams. In addition, when you confuse real constraints with fake ones, you deplete your holistic wealth bank account. People with a holistic wealth mindset don’t fear taking measured risks. They recognize fake versus real constraints, and they view setbacks as only temporary, and include their life’s mission in their definition of success. Get past your fear by focusing on the outcome you want to achieve — then say yes to your desire to take measured risks toward your goals.
4. Set Goals, With Wisdom
In making goals for the new year — do so knowing that there will be detours up ahead and plan accordingly. This helps us to plan for any unintended roadblocks up ahead and build this into our goal-setting. This will help to alleviate any significant shocks from unexpected detours we have on the road to achieving our goals. Setbacks will certainly happen — but we can plan for them in order to minimise the stress and fall-out after it happens.
5. Embrace Gratitude Through Spiritual Self-Renewal
Gratitude can help you live a more meaningful, happy life — which we all want to embrace in 2020. Spiritual self-renewal is heavily connected to gratitude because it includes taking the time to refresh and renew ourselves though meditation, prayer or even nature walks. How can you help others to enrich their holistic wealth bank accounts? Maybe you can send a positive note to someone who has impacted your life. Or try spending an entire conversation only asking the other person questions about themselves, helping them to feel connected. Today, find one way to give back and carry it out.
6. Start Journaling
This includes writing down your mission, vision and goals. It also gives you a historical reference point to see how far you’ve come. Keeping a journal of our thoughts, experiences, insights, and lessons also helps with mental clarity, exactness, and context. It teaches us to express ourselves on a deeper level and to express our feelings.
7. Strive for a Meaningful Life
Finding meaning in life is an integral concept to world-renowned psychologist Dr. Martin E. Seligman, author of the book Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being, and he includes this concept in his shorthand for happiness, PERMA, which stands for Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement. Seligman states that if we want to be “happy in the long term, we need to strive for the ‘Meaningful Life,’ in which we find a deep sense of fulfillment by employing our unique strengths for a purpose greater than ourselves.”
8. Develop Your Own Financial Identity
Its hard to live intentionally — if you haven’t figured out your own financial identity. So figure out what things you will splurge on vs. save on and develop the confidence to own your own financial identity without fear or pressure or influence.
Each of us should have a financial identity — one that is distinct and separate from our spouse’s or parents’. If you find yourself always wondering what your friends or parents think about the way you spend or invest, then it’s an indication that you haven’t fully figured out your financial identity. It’s impossible to design a well-planned future without a proper financial identity — we end up living our lives in the footsteps of others — and possibly making the same money mistakes. Excerpt from Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity and Happiness. Copyright @Keisha Blair.
9. Listen to Your Intuition
Listening to your intuition is key to operating in a state of mindfulness and living an intentionally designed life. “Operating in a state of mindlessness robs us of our ability to create holistic wealth. Mindlessness narrows our choices and weds us to single-minded attitudes. Professor Ellen Langer at Harvard University, in her book Mindfulness, writes, “The consequences of mindlessness range from the trivial to the catastrophic. These include an inhibiting self-image, unintended cruelty, loss of control and stunted potential.” According to Langer, “Mindlessness limits our self-control by preventing us from making intelligent choices. Advertisers effectively cater to mindlessness, encouraging us to spend money on products we don’t need when we’re not thinking about it.” Excerpt from Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity and Happiness. Copyright @Keisha Blair.
10. Start an Accountability Group
With 2020 beckoning at our doors, its also great to be a part of an accountability group to help advance your mission and goals in life. Afterall, living a holistically wealthy lifestyle is one of the keys to living a happy, meaningful, purpose-driven life. It means living an intentionally designed life. Starting an accountability group can help you achieve that. Plus its fun to have accountability partners in life!
A study by the American Society of Training and Development on accountability found that there is a 65% chance of completing a goal if you commit to someone. And if you have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed to, you will increase your chance of success by up to 95%. Let’s ensure that 2020 starts with a 95% success rate for achieving our goals!
If you’re considering starting a holistic wealth project group, email me at [email protected]. I’ve created a starter kit to help you kick start your holistic wealth project group.