The Secret to Living a Successful and Fulfilling Life

You need a purpose

People need to have a purpose and yet, so few do.

Without a purpose, we are not truly living a fulfilling life.

So what’s a purpose?

It’s your “why” for being alive. What is it you want to contribute, what’s your legacy, what do you love doing, what are you passionate about and what would you do even if there was no pay.

Throughout my life experience, I’ve found life is easy when you have a purpose first, and then set goals that support and align with that. Why? Because when you are in flow things become so much easier.

 

Once you have defined your purpose, the next step is to set your goals.

Goals have a way of focusing your mind, so if you mindfully choose goals that stand in support of and align with your purpose, you will achieve your goals faster and feel more fulfilled.

When there is a misalignment between your goals and purpose, life will seem like a struggle and you could feel conflicted. If you are currently experiencing struggle, revisit your purpose and check to see if your goals support that.

What if you don’t know how to start setting a goal?

That’s a common question that most people struggle with. The second thing you have to do before you begin your goal is to commit to one.

Think of one goal that you have been wanting to tackle for the longest time. It is the goal that will make the difference in your business and in your life.

It is the one goal, that if you were to achieve it, would make all the sacrifices worthwhile.

Take a look at any successful person in history and what do they all have in common? It’s that they were passionate about what they did.

Without your purpose and goals, you may not have the endurance to push through all the trials and tribulations. Likewise, if you choose too many goals, you could also spread yourself too thin.

Now, once you’ve decided what to commit to, and you are ready to block out time, then what?

I’ve gone in depth on how to create goals to produce lasting results before and I’m going to share a bit for you right now. You can use and implement this for any goal that you desire. It’s a time-tested method called S.M.A.R.T.

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.

What does this all mean?

Well, your goal needs to first be clearly-defined, as we mentioned before. Then, the goal needs to be measurable so you have evidence that you have achieved it.

These can take on the form of micro-goals, where everyday you commit to working on small tasks that will take you a step closer to your main goal.

It needs to be attainable, meaning that you must have the skills to accomplish it. You should write in the present tense as if it’s happening now. It must be relevant to your professional life and finally, it must be completed by a specific time (which you write down when setting your goal) that’s achievable for you.

The next step is to write down your “why” for wanting to achieve your goal and what it will cost you if you don’t achieve it. Write down at least 2 to 3 consequences for not achieving your goal then look over what you have written.

The realizations you have, will help you to focus on what achieving your goal will do for you and the pain you could experience if you don’t. This step will help propel you forward like a rocket to attain your goals.

Time to visualize

Once you have followed the S.M.A.R.T. formula remember to visualise your goal as if you have achieved it already.

Imagine you are a movie producer. You have written the script and it’s now time to get your life together and run a movie of you achieving your highest goal, on the screen in your mind. Next add sound, color and feeling to the movie.

See yourself achieving this goal, ask yourself what’s the last step that has to happen so you know you will have achieved your goal. Once you have the last step add that scene to the movie.

Now imagine you are an actor in the movie, see the movie through your own eyes as if it’s happening to you, then once you have played that role step out of the movie into the role of a producer.

See the movie from the perspective of a producer – at a distance. This step will allow you to detach from the outcome so your goal manifests.

Take a minute to notice how life has changed now you have achieved your goal and how your future will be different.

This simple visualisation will take you 3-5 mins, do it daily when you read over your goal or even once a week because it has the power to manifest your goals quickly.

And remember to focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.

A saying that I find relevant is “we live in a world with weapons of mass distraction”. There has never been a time where that quote is more true than today.

We live in a world where there is too much noise. Our attention span is smaller and that is a severe problem, especially if you are pursuing a goal.

But while finding and committing to a goal is challenging at first, it isn’t rocket science.

Ultimately, all you have to remember to do is to show up everyday, follow the S.M.A.R.T goal action steps and soon enough you will have achieved your goal.

Action Steps

1. Choose a SMART business goal that can be completed within a month
2. Follow the steps to ensure your goal meets the SMART criteria for setting a goal
3. On your calendar, block out time everyday for the next month to work towards it
4. For the first week, write down a micro-goal each day that is equally challenging but attainable
5. On day 7 of the week, review how you went. Now, repeat this process everyday until you accomplish your goal at the end of the month

 

Result You Will Achieve

A goal that you have committed to for an entire month and a structure that can be used for any goal in the future.

This article is based on an EHQ interview with the mentor.