You’re in 3rd place.
Jacque is well ahead of you. Sandy is within reach but gaining momentum. You are not going to win this one. But then it happens! Jacque trips on a gumdrop and lands face down on a licorice space. Meanwhile, you take rainbow road for a massive shortcut and the lead!
You were planning on going for purple because that would be the most squares forward. However, you noticed rainbow road a couple of squares behind it and changed your strategy. Jacque tripped on a gumdrop because he failed to reevaluate his environment. Jacque was focused on getting on the square furthest away, but this yellow square was a licorice space (lose a turn) unlike the other yellow spaces.
Yes, I dared to use Candy Land as an example. 😛
Life = Static? I Think Not!
Life is a dynamic….thing. Today’s ideas are out of date tonight. Next week’s plans are interrupted by 76 minute changes (I counted) in one’s environment. Think about how many changes could occur over the period of months or years. Do you regularly account for these changes?
When I play basketball and a defender moves in front of me – I react. When a bee stings me – my body reacts. When I hear beautiful music – my soul reacts. When I see a beautiful woman of interest – the butterflies in my stomach take off. This is typical human behavior (I am normal?!).
There is one area where humans are much less likely to react – and it is the most important one – life direction. The reason is simple – a lack of critical, deep thinking. This is the focus of my website because it is essential to personal development. You won’t change something that you don’t think about.
So you’re set on going to college?
- What about the fact that you made that decision at the age of 13 and you’re 18 now?
- Has everything relating to that decision remained static for 5 years?
- Have you considered that tuition costs have been skyrocketing?
- Is your mindset exactly the same as it was back then?
No, so why rely on a 5-year-old decision? That’s just passive living. Passive living is the worst, by the way.
Crack Your Life’s Back
People plan for regular corrections or “alignments” in many aspects of life – company meetings, chiropractic back adjustments, family meetings, monthly budgets, training in sports to get back into shape, and countless more examples. Great news! This means that we already have the skills necessary to do this with the most important and far-reaching one of them all!
Restart your life every 30 days (or every month). First, you should think about what your purpose and short term goals are that relate to your long term goals. Here are mine as an example:
As of today, my purpose/long term goal is to live actively and pursue financial independence by making money myself. That is my long-term goal as far as “career” is concerned. The short term goals that relate to it are
- Creating significant value for my readers
- Learning to write better
- Developing relationships with other bloggers to learn and connect with the blogging community
- Increasing my blog’s traffic
- Thinking of ways to monetize this blog
On May 1st I am going to rethink this. I might come to the same conclusion. Most likely, there will be some minor changes that better suit where I am on May 1st. I have added the event “reevaluate life” to my calendar for the 1st of every month. This will ensure that my short term goals will constantly be realigned with my longer term goals based on my environment and current situation.
This is only one of my goals – but it is the one that is commanding my attention right now. Maybe in a month I’ll become rich and lonely. Then my reevaluation would involve a change in primary focus from career to personal life. It isn’t that I regularly shun one or the other, but I need to decide how much time and effort are given to each area of life that matters to me. Reevaluation allows me to choose according to my current situation.
Won't change your mind? Then say hello to Lord Licorice!
If you want, you can reevaluate every week. As you get used to reevaluating your life, you’ll naturally begin to do it on the fly! This is ideal.
Don’t be a kite in the wind – be a plane slicing through the wind, deciding its own destiny. The best way to do this is to think about your life direction actively. Seeing as things can change in an instant, holding on to a decision you made 8 years ago seems most unwise. It is ok to change your mind.
Changing your mind is sometimes seen as a negative thing – IT IS NOT! Changing your mind shows initiative and an active mind. Are we so foolish that we believe our first choice will always turn out nicely in an environment of constantly shifting variables? If you aren’t willing to be flexible in this world, you’ll be shredded and torn apart by the moving parts.