Why you should be planning for 2020, not 2019

Why you should be planning for 2020, not 2019Why you should be planning for 2020, not 2019Before writing the first chapter of Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling planned for seven years at Hogwarts. Harry Potter is one of the most read books of all-time.Before creating the first Stars Wars movie in the 1970s, George Lucas planned for at least six films and started at episode four, rather than episode one. Almost 40 years later, the entire world continues to be excited with the release of a new Star Wars film. This would not be possible if Lucas hadnt thoughtfully and largely planned ahead.The principle is simple Dont just plant a tree, plant an orchard.https//www.gapingvoid.com/culture-wall/How different might Harry Potter have been if Rowling started the book without any intentions or plans beyond the first book? It may have just been a book about a boy who went to school and killed a bad guy. Perhaps, at the conclusion of that story, Rowling might or might not have decided to write a seque l.Yet, by beginning with the end in mind, Rowling was able to direct and position the first book much differently. The first book, although amazing in itself, was a means to an end, clearly leading the reader to the next book.Not only that but by having a long-term objective, Rowling was able to create a much bigger story. She was able to foreshadow to things the reader wouldnt learn about for sometimes several yearsBut she planted those seeds early and thoughtfully, and as a result, each book was a continuation of the next, rather than several disconnected and random stories.Similarly, consider how different Star Wars would have been had Lucas created one film, without planning what would come next, or before Vader may have just been the bad guy, not Lukes father.Very few people live like thisYou are the writer of your own narrative. Yet, how often do you plan each year based on what you intend to do during the next year or the one after that?What if, like Rowling, you were living this year based on what you intend to do in 1, 3, and 5 years from now?Its all in the platzsetup.Goals are means, not ends.Everything you do is positioning. Are you positioning yourself to do AMAZING things in 1, 3, or 5 years from now?I can already hear your mental wheels spinning.But you cant plan for the future The real world isnt HogwartsObviously, the world is changing fast. You cant plan for everything. Hence, Tony Robbins has said, Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.https//www.gapingvoid.com/culture-wall/And thats the difference. Most people dont make committed decisions, which is why only 8% of people go on to accomplish their New Years Resolutions.In an interview between John Assaraf and Lewis Howes, Assaraf shared what his first mentor taught him about goal setting.After setting his goals in several areas of his life (e.g., health, spirituality, finances, relationships, service, etc.), and for 1, 3, 5, and 25 years out, Assarafs mentor ask ed him, Are you interested in achieving these goals, or are you committed? to which Assaraf responded, Whats the difference?His mentor respondedIf youre interested, you come up with stories, excuses, reasons, and circumstances about why you cant or why you wont. If youre committed, those go out the window. You just do whatever it takes.https//www.gapingvoid.com/culture-wall/Clearly, Assarafs life probably isnt exactly how he planned it to be when he set those goals in 1982 at the age of 19. However, Im confident those goals propelled him to where he is today.He was playing and planning a much bigger game than most people and writing a much different story.The science doesnt lieIf psychological science has found anything in the past 30 years, its that people with high self-efficacy and an internal locus of control radically outperform others.Self-efficacy = your belief in your own ability to achieve your goals. Think confidence.Internal locus of control = a belief that you, not exter nal circumstances, determine the outcomes of your life.External locus of control = a belief that factors outside of you determine the outcomes of your life.The majority of the population have low self-efficacy and an external locus of control. According to several research studies, people with these two traitsDont set challenging goalsDont take on leadership rolesExperience learned helplessnessHave a higher gunst der stunde of depression and anxietyLack motivationHave a pessimistic view of the futureHave low job satisfaction and low job performanceHave low life satisfactionHave low engagement in both work and lifeHave greater health problemsExperience more stressThe list goes on. You get the point.Reverse everything on that list for people with high self-efficacy and an internal locus of control.https//www.gapingvoid.com/culture-wall/Living a Consciously Designed LifeThe best way to predict your future is to create it. - Abraham LincolnPulling it all together, heres how it worksYou must believe YOU ARE IN CONTROL of what happens to you (i.e., internal locus of control)You must believe in YOUR OWN ABILITY to make things happen (i.e., self-efficacy/confidence)You must believe you, and only you, are RESPONSIBLE for the choices you makeYou must have HOPE that what you seek will come about.According to psychologys Hope Theory, hope reflects your perceptions regarding your capacity toclearly conceptualize goalsdevelop the specific strategies to reach those goals (i.e., pathways thinking)initiate and sustain the motivation for using those strategies (i.e., agency thinking).From a spiritual perspective, hope is far more than wishful thinking. Its a sense of confidence, even assurance, that what you seek is a foregone conclusion - what Tony Robbins calls, Resolve.Resolve means its done, said Robbins. Its done inside your heart, therefore its done in the real world. Hence, Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it h appen.https//www.gapingvoid.com/culture-wall/Few people make committed decisions. Instead, they state preferences such as, Id like to be healthier and happier.To quote Assarafs mentor, Are you interested or committed?5. You are MOTIVATED, even when life is difficult.According to one of the core theories of motivation, motivation involves three componentsthe value you place on your goalyour belief that specific behaviors will actually facilitate the outcomes you desireyour belief in your own ability to successfully execute the behaviors requisite to achieving your goalsIf you dont truly value the goal, you wont be motivated. If you dont believe you have an effective means of achieving your goal, you wont be motivated. If you dont expect yourself to do what it takes, you wont be motivated.This theory is known as Expectancy Theory, and it highlights that what you expect to happen often does. Hence the term, self-fulfilling prophecy.Interestingly, there is a related concept known as The Pygmalion Effect, which shows that what other people expect of you in large measure determines how well you do.The principles are simple Expect amazing things to happen and they generally will. Surround yourself with people who have high expectations for you and youll generally live up to those expectations.Be ? Do ? HaveYou have to Be the right kind of person first, then you must Do the right things before you can expect to Have. - Zig Ziglarhttps//www.gapingvoid.com/culture-wall/Living a consciously designed life is completely possible.Perhaps the most fundamental decision any person can ever make is this oneYou can choose to believe that the people who succeed, like Michael Jordan, for example, were born to become what they didOr, you can choose to believe that at some point, they chose to become what they didThat is the most fundamental decision you can make about life as a human being. It is what some would call a watershed issue - whichever side of the equation you pick wil l put you down a course that will influence all of your other decisions, mindsets, and beliefs.Do you believe you can choose what you become?Or do you believe your course is set for you at birth?Do you discover yourself or do you create yourself?Whichever perspective you choose, your brain will go about finding any and all information it can to support that bias. As Dan Sullivan has said, Your eyes can only see and your ears can only hear what your brain is looking for.Psychologists call this selective attention.What you focus on expands.You see what you believe is real - and then it becomes real for you in a self-fulfilling prophecy. As Dr. Stephen Covey said, You see the world, not as it is, but as youve been conditioned to see it.Making this shift starts by recognizing that for quite a while, youve been going through the motions. Your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and even desires are the product of your environment.Thanks to a global world that makes information abun dant, it isnt hard to become exposed to other ways of life. However, you must realize quickly that most of the information online is complete trash. Which is why Basecamp Founder, Jason Fried, has said, Im pretty oblivious to a lot of things intentionally. I dont want to be influenced that much.Once you begin upgrading your mindset and environment, and once your priorities and goals are clear - then you dont want to be swayed or distracted by most of the low-level information out there.A key strategy for making any jump is to, Assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled, meaning, you assume the posture, attitude, and emotions of the people operating at the higher level.https//www.gapingvoid.com/culture-wall/You affirm to yourself who you are and then operate from that affirmation. This may sound like acting as if, and it actually is.But its important to realize that we are always acting in a role. All of life is acting. In every situation, you are assuming a character. Youre playing a role based on the other people around you. In some situations, your role may be an employee, while in others it may be a parent, or child, or friend.In all cases, you are acting a part.You can change your role.You can change the stage.You can choose to be different. But it must start in your state of being. Rather than operating subconsciously as the majority of people do, you must make a conscious decision about who you intend to be and where you intend to go. You must then BEHAVE from that decision. When you act from that decision, then you create the outcomes you are seeking. You will become the person you intend to be, rather than the person your circumstances led you to be.Conclusion Humility and aweMy dreams are my dress rehearsals for my future. - David CopperfieldDoes everything in life go exactly how you plan it? Of course not.Heres the principle Expect great things to happen, be happy even when they dont.Expect everything and attach to nothing - Carrie Campbellhttps//w ww.gapingvoid.com/culture-wall/However, just because things dont go exactly according to plan doesnt mean you arent in control. It is your decisions, not your conditions, which determine your destiny.When you take up the responsibility to live your life according to design rather than the default, you will constantly be humbled and in awe. Youll be blown away as you watch life unfold as you saw it in your head - as your physical world conforms itself to your thoughts.You absolutely can live your life how Rowling wrote Harry Potter and how Lucas wrote Star Wars.You can dream and live BIG.You can live by design.Your world can continue to expand.But you must think further ahead. 2019 shouldnt be viewed in isolation. Its an obvious continuation of 2018.So what will your life be like in 2020?Ready to upgrade?Ive created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change very quickly.Get the cheat sheet hereThis article first a ppeared on Medium.