I will occasionally reach those times in my life where I feel kind of lost, and like what I'm working for doesn't really have a purpose or I'm not gaining traction. A ship drifting in the ocean of life, occasionally hitting islands of inspiration and purpose, but always by accident and never intentional. There'd be several periods where I would have a period of time where I am excited and focused on a goal for the future, but I would inevitably fall off course and lose interest in the idea.
I took a chance on an excellent book by Michael Hyatt titled 'Living Forward' on building an envisioned future, then reviewing and revising it regularly to stay aligned with moving to your ideal life.
Two weeks in advance, I planned for a perfect day of complete focus and escape from my normal work; I would go to my favorite place, the beach, to write my Life Plan. I envisioned a peaceful, lightly overcast day alone on the shoreline with a pen in hand, letting my mind run free with ideas! It would be just me alone with my thoughts; I wouldn't talk to anyone that day, from morning till evening, I would be dedicated to this plan! I would come back refreshed and focused with a clear vision on the next actionable steps I could take in my life.
I really hyped myself up for this day. I started the morning off just right, with the longest run of my life before the break of dawn in a quiet, upscale neighborhood, returning to a hot cup of coffee with some lively discussions with one of my closest friends and got caught each other up with our personal lives and wellbeing. Leaving for the ocean shortly before noon, I made it to a lovely course beach full of happy people showing their smiles through their facemasks. This will be an amazing and productive day!
After finding a comfortable spot on the rocky shoreline right above the ocean spray, with the sunlight shining down on my laptop screen, I got down to putting my thoughts into a structured plan showing me the steps I need to take my life to the next level. After a few minutes of ensuring I wouldn't get distracted by reading my messages and giving myself the peace of mind knowing that there wasn't anything or anyone waiting for me, I put my fingers on the keyboard and started writing! I got a few paragraphs in on my expected 14-page life plan before I took a break for lunch.
I climbed to the top of the steep hill overlooking the scattered camp of tents by the ocean and enjoyed my chilled fried veggies, sausage, and cheese, as the warm fifty-degree wind blew by. After spending an hour enjoying the view and lightly meditating, I got back down into my focused mind space, where I cranked out a few pages before it was time to go home. I left there knowing I put in a good hard day of focused and intentional work, not succumbing to procrastination and distraction. I enjoyed a pleasant evening with friends huddled in the corner, furiously writing the last few pages before heading to bed.
My life plan was not pretty, but I was able to get the basics out, and having an imperfect plan was not ideal but I had something to work off of. I didn't put it off that day and I was able to build and edit it over time to more closely match my envisioned future. I am not entirely happy with my focus that day and definitely could have done a better job setting myself up for success by preparing in advance for those inevitable distractions. However, I came out with a product of my work, and that is why that was one of the biggest pivotal changes in my mindset. Producing an imperfect result, something that can be refined down the line.