We all want to have a great future that is full of promises and successes. Every one of us desires to be financially stable, have a loving family and to practice the career that one wants. Together, these factors create the future of your dreams. It is much easier said than done though. Building a great future is personal to every individual. It looks different in the eyes and perspective of every person out there. How can you build a great one for yourself? Here is a 10 steps guide that will help you in building the said great future.
Plan the Future That You Desire
Lewis Carroll is a celebrated author. He is remembered for remarking that if you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. Every journey to achievement begins with a solid plan. The future that you desire is a plan away. Get a pen and paper and decide what your future looks like. After that, you need to identify the steps that you need to get there. Every step can also be referred to as a goal. It should be measurable and specific. Determine the professional and personal activities that you need to conduct so as to create that future which you desire. After that, put your plan into action.
Be Practical
Also known as being pragmatic, this is a very important attitude to have as you build your future. Take note of the resources and abilities that you currently have. As you do this, accept that you may not have the strengths that other people around you possess. Take note of these too. Once you do this, you will have a clear understanding of your personal toolbox of skills. You can proceed to use this toolbox so as to exploit opportunities and establish the assets that you can use to construct a great future for yourself.
Identify WHO You Want to Be, Not WHAT You Want to Be
An important part of constructing the future that you desire centers on creating who you want to be, not what you want to be. This is because the process of deciding who you want to be forces you to call upon your own personal passion, competence and satisfaction. These are very strong drivers of change in your life. When you know who you want to be, you are empowered to know exactly what you need to do, the things that you need to own as well as the resources that you need so as to become that person that you desire to be. This leads to better investment of time and resources.
Be Honest With Yourself and Accountable Too
This is a process that requires you to be blunt and honest with yourself. Identify exactly what your shortcomings are. Also, identify the values that you hold dear. If you have a friend or family member that you truly trust, you can discuss this with them. Let them point out the negative qualities that they think you have. After that, figure out if these negative qualities can be changed or they are necessary part of your personality. Not every rough edge is a bad one. Some of them will help you to get through the challenges that befall you on your path to a great future. Being honest with yourself gives you inner peace because it helps you to accept yourself as who you truly are in the moment.
Ignore the Haters
Whenever you are doing something to change your life for the better, those who feel as though they are losing control of you will always have something negative to say. These can be our friends or even our family. There are two types of criticism. These are constructive and destructive criticisms. Constructive criticism is that which comes with a possible solution attached while destructive criticism has nothing attached. If you encounter some people who have the destructive kind, ignore them. However, those with the constructive kind can be welcomed and watched closely.
Do Not Accept Mediocrity From Yourself
It is important to know that building a great future will demand that you push yourself to the limits of your potential. The reason why so many people are sad and dissatisfied with how they live their lives is because they settled for the easy path through life. The easy path is often very crowded and when you follow it, you will be left wondering why your life feels as though it has no meaning. This leads to major problems in future such as depression and dissatisfaction with one's life. Therefore, pick a path that will push you to exploit your own potential to the fullest. Don't aspire to be reactive, purpose to be proactive. The game of life is won by those who are aggressive in using their energy, talent and smarts to identify what makes them happy and how they can achieve it. Do this and it will get you much closer to a great future. Remember, greatness is a choice.
Become Comfortable With Change and Uncertain Conditions
Successful people around the world understand one thing, change is the new normal. Changes such as disruptive technologies and new methods of doing business are always there. There are two types of change. That which happens to you and that which you create on your own. Many people wait for change to happen to them. Those who do this are often surprised and upset when undesirable things start to occur to them. On the other hand, the people who create the change that they want are able to stay in control of their future. In the way, they can make calculated changes that get them much closer to the great future that they desire.
Find the Future
Exploiting opportunities which are created by things that have already happened can help you to establish a good future. Exploiting opportunities that will happen in the future as a result of today's conditions can help you to create a great future. It is highly important to be future-oriented. Look around you and identify the events that have already happened and visualize what they could lead to. After that, simply invest your time and energy in the future of these events and you will be successful.
Develop Yourself Relentlessly
Developing yourself further means that you have to learn new manners, internalize new knowledge and learn new skills as well. This process can be painful. Letting go of the habits that we have cultivated all our lives is a hard task indeed, but it is doable. However, if it gets you closer to your desired future then the pain is worth it. It is important to remember that pain is weakness leaving the body. Embrace it and once you get used to it, you will no longer feel it and you will be stronger than ever. In this way, you can develop yourself to build a great future.
Remove to Improve
Sometimes you have to get light for your flight. On the path to building a great future, there are some things that you have to eliminate from your life. This is because they have exhausted their value to you. These things can be some habits, some activities as well as some relationships. If they do not contribute to the future that you desire, get rid of them. This is a process that is known as systematic abandonment. Doing this gives you control over the circumstances in your life. Once they are all out of the way, then you can proceed to develop yourself. The best way to do this is to use what is known as kaizen, a Japanese word that describes the concept of improving yourself steadily.
The Important Take Away
We all deserve to have a great future. Unfortunately, this type of future comes only through hard work and perseverance. You have to take it. The steps indicated above will assist you to prepare yourself and take control of your destiny. They will help you to build a great future.
