Action

Prompt: Action. When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas. It's about making ideas happen. What's your next step?

2010 was the year I started to make things really happen. Not that things never happened before, after all I've been to university and got a degree, landed myself a plum graduate job (and about another 4 subsequent to that), kicked and screamed my way through a professional qualification (13 out of 13 first-time passes, thank you very much!), and last but certainly not least, lost 4 stone. All by myself.

Something changed in 2010 though. All my decisions, and by extension, all my accomplishments, before then, kind of happened organically. I'd him and hah about things, vaguely dream of them, and usually fate would give me a helping hand, or sometimes friend's choices would give me a kick-start in a particular direction, and off I'd trundle.

I'm very proud of all that I've achieved, but if you'd asked me when I was 18 it wouldn't have been where I thought I'd be at all. I was going to be a vet, not an accountant. I have drifted and let life and circumstances mould my life.

Somewhere in 2010 I started reaching a bit harder for the things I wanted. I quit a job I hated. I grabbed an opportunity to travel and made it worked for me. I stopped being frustrated with my life circumstances and did something to change them and try an alternative by moving, and I've started to wipe up my own mess of debt.

The trick to making things happen has, for me, been accepting responsibility for my dreams and aspirations, and realising that no-one else is likely to make them happen. And to get where you want to go, you might have to go somewhere unexpected first.

An example: I want to be wealthy and able to afford the things I want and life-style I enjoy. So far, that got me in debt. To get there, I'm going to have to clamp down on my spending and get my debt cleared, because then I'll have extra money for me, rather than just servicing my credit cards. It hurts me to say no to ski holidays, and tickets for concerts I want to go to. But those baby steps will point me in the right direction.

Write lists, jot down your goals, break them down in to tasks. Research your dreams - know them. Understand your current situation and workout what needs to change to get you from A to B.

Whether it's debt, a fitness goal, a dream to travel, or a new career - take responsibility for your goal, plan it, and then, the scary bit, start executing that plan.


- Posted from my iPhone