Design Your Happy Future Easily With These 3 Steps

This post isn’t about designing ‘a’ happy future; this is about designing ‘your’ happy future.

When this whole corona isolation started, I figured this might give me 1.5hr extra every day because I won’t have to drive to work.

I used that time to work on myself — spent a considerable amount of time, energy, and money in life coaching programs and courses.

This is an email screenshot from my business coach Liz Huber.

Image by Dipanshu Rawal

She emailed me the summary of our first coaching call on 29 April 2020, and one of the points I have highlighted is the 3-month goal I set for myself “Quit job in 3-months”.

I wanted to be a full-time life coach. And that’s what I did.

It took me less than three months to quit my job and become a full-time life coach.

Sounds so easy, doesn’t it?

It took efforts, work, alignment, but eventually, I am where I wanted to be.

Would you like to create your future too?

If yes, keep reading this post, because you will discover the three steps it took me to come here, and if you follow the blueprint, you will design your happy future too.

Step 1: Define ‘Your Happy Future’

What does happiness mean to you?

I wanted to work for myself and be location independent. Being an online life coach appeared to be a perfect match for it.

I wanted to earn XYZ amount of money monthly, and do something where I can write 1–2hr every day at least (because I love writing!), but also I didn’t want to be a full-time novelist or something. I wanted to have my creative freedom.

Do you see it?

What does your happy future look like?

Copy/Pasting here one of the activities directly from my book “Spark A Fire”.

You can define your happy future by answering these questions:

What does your life ten years from now look like? How much are you earning, and what are your sources of income?

Where are you living?

What type of friends do you hang out with?

Are you making regular donations too? How much? To which NGO?

If 10-year sounds like a long time, maybe do this kind of exercise with a 3-month or a 6-month timeframe.

7 Ways Life Coaching Has Transformed My Life

Step 2: Define the Biggest Rocks of Your Life

There is a story about a professor who was delivering a lecture to his class.

On his table rested an empty jug, some large rocks, pebbles and a jar of sand.

Upon filling the jug with the large rocks, he turned to the class and asked if the jug was full.

When the class answered “Yes”, he dropped the pebbles into the juggle, which settled into space amongst the larger rocks.

He once again inquired whether the jug was full, and when the students again responded with a yes, he filled the small spaces between the rocks and pebbles with sand.

This story is a metaphor for life.

The rocks are the most significant parts of life which are often forgotten due to the mundane daily tasks that take up our time- the pebbles and the sand.

Change the focus of your lens. Look at everything objectively.

The biggest challenge of my life, 6 months ago, was to find time to pursue all of what I was doing, without burning out.

I was working out in the gym regularly, doing freelance work as a digital marketing consultant while having a full-time job (where I had to travel 1.5hr a day) and learning “life coaching” on the side.

Fortunately, WFH solved a lot of my problems. I didn’t have to travel to work. That ONE part made a lot of my other issues irrelevant.

What are the biggest and most significant challenges you are facing in your life right now?

And…

What are the top 3 issues of your life, that if they get resolved, most of the other issues will become irrelevant?

Step 3: Where Will You Get the Support?

To set up my coaching business, I needed help from someone, preferably a business coach, who could mentor me and guide me.

Before that, I needed to get clear with the purpose of my life, let go of the blockages in my mindset, and develop a growth mindset.

So I worked with a mindset coach first.

I did the needful.

What’s needful in your case?

What do you need (and in what order) to finally move forward in the direction of your happy future?

There’s an inherent difference between mindset and strategy. I explained the difference in detail in my IGTV video here.

Briefly speaking,

Mindset = your thoughts and beliefs.

Strategy = action steps

The ideal order of things that one needs to follow is — 1) Mindset 2) Strategy.

How can you start working on your mindset?

1. Read books from new authors, learn new perspectives.
2. Be in-network with people who are where you want to be. If you start hanging out with five millionaires regularly, you will be the sixth one soon.
3. Work with a coach to discover all the boundaries you have set for yourself.

What’s next?

Action will take you to the next step. Define your action steps.

What is the ONE thing you can do today that will take you a step forward in the direction of your happy future?

Can you start everything by reaching out to a mindset coach?

(Hey, I am here!)

Summary

Here is a 3-step process to design your happy future

Step 1: Define your happy future. What are the activities and material possession that make you happy? Enlist them. Visualise a perfect day in your happy future.

Step 2: Define the biggest challenges of your life? What are the top 3 issues of your life, that if they get resolved, most of the other issues will become irrelevant? Figure that out.

Step 3: Seek support. Read books. Join life coaching programs. Working with a mindset coach can give you the initial boost you need to figure out step 1 you need to take.

Originally published at: https://www.dipanshurawal.com/design-future/