Creating a Vision for My Life

Success does not look the same for anyone. Some may see success based on monetary values, how much money they have or make. Others may see it as what they have, personal possessions. Some may base it on their families. Some may see it in a promotion. Point is: it varies.

However, your idea of success should change from season to season because your goals change and so do you. I’m sure what you wanted to achieve when you were 21 you’ve either achieved or your perspective has shifted. You’ve reached new heights and you’re still continuing to be great.

What’s your vision for your life? What does success look like to you? Write it down and make it plain. Create a vision board. Revisit it often and not just to make sure that you’re headed in the right direction but to check back every now and then to make sure it’s still your vision.  And make sure it’s realistic. By realistic I mean make sure they’re within reason. For example, to get myself into a regular writing pattern I challenged myself to 500 words a day which was crazy. 0 to 500 is ridiculous so of course I got overwhelmed and didn’t do it. Don’t create unattainable goals then feel inadequate when you don’t accomplish them like I did.

Have you read The Alchemist? Remember when Santiago worked for the merchant for nearly a year and insisted the money would be to go buy back his sheep? He was trying to give up but being a shepherd wasn’t his dream. He needed to go to the pyramids.

Make your vision clear. When you’re clear on what your vision is, you won’t be swayed by other’s opinions or try to mimic someone else’s life. I know we all want to make our parents proud but is what you’re doing what you really want to do? I didn’t write for the longest because I didn’t want to be a struggling writer so instead I was a struggling claims adjuster and grad student. All I needed to do was what I really wanted to do which was write. You can’t cheat the hustle.

Allow yourself the grace and time to be a beginner. Yes, I’m a great writer 🙂 but I can’t cheat the hustle. You are a great designer, singer, artist, doctor, nurse, lawyer whatever but you have to put in the time to be the best. Reaching personal or professional goals instills a sense of achievement. When I reach a goal, I feel as though I am making great strides and being productive. I feel so proud of myself, like I can do anything. I feel like I can conquer the world. It gives me momentum to keep going and work harder towards my next goal and to keep going. I want to continue to challenge myself and raise the bar. Set some goals and knock them out.

There is no right or wrong way to define success. It’s something that comes from within. I do, however, think that it is important that you define it, though. Not knowing what success looks like for you or what it feels like, can lead you to work hard and not achieve any sense of fulfillment. If you don’t acknowledge what your success looks like, how will you know if you have made any progress or reached any milestones or if you’ve actually been successful in that season? If you don’t know what you want, you’ll end up chasing a dream that was never yours to begin with.

It also helps to set milestones for yourself. Little wins along the way to keep you going. What would it take to reach your goals? Are you working towards it every day? Weekly? Monthly?

While I was in grad school, I wrote down “Kaylia Fontenot, MBA” about fifty times… a day. Seeing it made such a great difference in my mood and day because my hand was hurting but still, on the inside, I felt great. It gave me the motivation I needed to keep studying.

It’s never too late to change your mind. Don’t worry about the time; it’ll pass regardless. A wise man once said: God can take time out of the equation.

As we approach the halfway mark of 2018, take a moment to assess where you are with your goals. Are you happy with the progress? Do you need to hit reset?

As always, take what you need and leave the rest.

Head over to the store and check out Go, Girl!: A Guided Self-Discovery Workbook to Help You Dig Through Your Stuff and Live Your Best Life. I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me to write it!