Creating your future is a choice you make

Creating your future is a choice you make

Creating your future is a choice you make. Do not leave it to chance!

Ben Ugoji

Contents:

Introduction

The power to dream

Thinking Strategically: Turn your dream goal

Effort and Commitment to your goal -Success

Conclusion

"Your past is gone, for your future is uncertain. If you take this message to heart, you know you cannot change what is done, but corrective action you take today, can help benefit you today as well as shape a positive future."

- Emperor Marcus Aurelius - 1^st Century AD

Introduction

As human beings, we have the freedom to make choices. These choices good or bad are the culmination or product of our thought process. Our thought process is likened to a system, which creates a product, which could be evident in term of our actions or behaviors. Any system is made of input, process, and output. For the system to be efficient the output or result is monitored via a feed back mechanism. Imagine you liken yourself as a system; it is possible that the outcome of your thoughts could be what you are reaping now. Put in another way you are the product of your thought. I f it is possible to assume that your present circumstance or position could have been because of your past thinking: hence, it is possible that through intentional thinking you could create a future for yourself. This may sound very ambiguous but the point I want to share with you is that you take control of your future by practicing good thinking and a commitment to follow through. Essentially, you want to make a decision or solve a problem; this article will spur you to intentionally see them as obstacles to your progress and will identity ways to help you to make progress.

The power to dream

Each of us has the power to dream. From my point of view, I liken the dream situation as the ability to imagine a situation you desire even though you have not realized it. Whatever that imagined situation is you can make it to become a reality through application of necessary skills that will bring it to birth. So what is your dream of life? It does not matter the area of your life. You can make it happen through careful planning trusting the God who had given you this dream to bring it to pass. I have to mention that the dream of yours must be of value. It should be able to add value to your life and have a positive impact on those around you. Concisely, it should give you the opportunity to make progress. No matter how big your dream, vision, idea, or thought is; it means nothing unless you develop the process to making it become a reality.

Let us take an example that you desire to change your career. It will be a dream until you set up strategy to make it happen. This will lead us to the next step of realizing you dream.

Thinking Strategically: Turn your dream to a goal

Thank God for the brain and the thought process. There is one thought action for creative endeavor and another for innovation. Creativity is having and idea and innovation is making it happen. How can you turn you dream to a goal?

Let me tell you a story about my idea about a goal. When I was, a child and we usually play the game of football. Before the start of the game, we have to choose the team. As soon as the team is chosen, we have to set the goal post. Why do we have to set the goal post before the game? Why do we bother to put the goal post? Thinking over this simple story and relating it to our journey of life is very important? For us then setting the goal is motivating and gives us focus as to the game we are to play. How do you we relate it to real life?

From the section above, you desire to change your career. It will be a dream until you set a goal. How do you set your goal?

Jack Cranfield in his book: How to Get from where you are to where you want to be; the 25 principles of success, stipulates that you goal should indicate, "How much, by when?"

In setting goal in any area of your life you've to take note of the following criteria.

Goals are written (that makes you accountable), personal (must be within your power to achieve), specific (what you intend to do), achievable (need to be motivating), measurable (how will I know that I got thee), and time-sensitive (set a date for completion).

You can literally set goal in any area of your life, namely, finances health, hobbies, skills, family sports, exercise, professional advancement, educational, spiritual development and communication skills. According to Canfield (2007), all you have to do is to decide where you want to go by clarifying your vision, lock in your destination through goal setting, affirmations and visualization and start moving in the right direction.

Effort and Commitment to your goal -Success

Now that you have set your goal, you need to accomplish it. Accomplishing any goal require discipline as well commitment on your part. You need to plan clearly the tasks required to achieve your goal as well as the steps. Along this road, there will be obstacles, namely, considerations, fears and roadblocks that will stop you realizing your dream.

What then do these obstacles mean? These obstacles were described in Cranfields book.

Considerations are limiting thoughts that prevent you fro accomplishing your dream, Say for example, in your career change the consideration could sound like this. Therefore, do you think it is easy to change your career; what if you fail?

Fear, on the other hand are feelings. In her book ‘Learning to learn: Maximizing your performance potential'; D. Trinidad Hunt (1992), describe them as fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being different and fear of change.

Roadblocks are barriers outside your circumstance that would prevent you from achieving your goal.

The only resolve to achieve your goal is to have a positive attitude that you will succeed. This requires commitment. Commitment influences behavior, and behavior results. David McNally (1990), in his book ‘Even the Eagles need a push' (p.155) has this to say:

"Commitment is the mental resolve never to give up. Determined action is the evidence of that resolve. Success requires both mental and physical effort."

Conclusion

In creating the future life, that desire you need to have a clear vision of what you want. Having determined what you want, you need to adopt the behavior required to achieve it as well as determine the value (why) you need it to motivate the behavior to attain it. This is fundamentally a change principle. It requires action on your part to enable it happen. Determine to envision the things you want in other areas of yore life. Give it a go and see the life changing effect.

©2008 B S C Ugoji