Create the future of your choice.
Tell your story of yesterdays.
Envisage your future tomorrows

Your future is too important to be left to chance - isn't it?

Sir Thomas Buxton, 1786 - 1845, is quoted as saying,

"The longer I live, the stronger becomes my conviction that the truest difference between the success and the failure, between the strong and the weak, between the big and the small man, that separates the boys from the men, is nothing but a powerful aim in life, a purpose once fixed and then death or victory. And no perfect speech or manners, no culture or education, no pull or influence, can make a two-legged creature a man without it."

So, what is your powerful aim in life, your purpose?

What is your song to sing?

What future do you want?

These are easy questions to ask and not always so easy to answer.

A good way to start is to recognise that where ever you are in your life right now can be summarised into two parts: your yesterdays and your tomorrows.

Your past is the easiest to describe and interpret and question, of course, because, having already happened, it is more tangible than your tomorrows which are yet to happen.

So, although it may seem a bit odd, start to clarify the future you want (and the future you don’t want) by reflecting on your past.

How?

Tell your story.

Make it explicit by writing it down or drawing it or expressing it in any other way that works for you.

Start by describing where you are right now; where you’ve come from; and how you got here.

There is no right or wrong way of doing this so just enjoy the process.

Sometimes it helps to literally “tell you story” to someone else.

The questions they ask can be very helpful.

Or, you may remember the TV show of many, many moons ago, “This Is Your Life”.

Be the producer of “a show” that tells the story of your life.

Make your story as full as you can and be sure to include, for example:

* your achievements - all of them that you can remember.

Emphasise those that you recall as having made a difference to your life or as having been significant in making you who you are today.

What have been your proudest moments so far and why?

* your disappointments.

What aspects, if any, of your life so far do you feel dissatisfied about?

Why do you feel that way?

* situations that you believe brought out the best in you.

Why did that happen? What was it that triggered your best?

* situations that may have frightened you or caused you to withdraw and deny your best.

What was it that caused you to react in this way?

* other people, especially those who may have had a very positive (or negative) effect on you.

Having told your story, you may wish to summarise your strengths and weaknesses or make it part of your personal development process.


Having described your past, and told your story, you now may choose to challenge it with some questions, such as:

* how did you achieve what you have achieved?

* how is it you haven’t achieved twice as much? (or more)

* if you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

why? and how?

* do you see any patterns or trends in your life that are significant in bringing out the best and the worst in you?

* based on your story, if you died now what would be your epitaph?

* how much of your potential do you believe you have released and realised so far?

* what are the three most important things you have learned?

* of all the things in your story, what is it that has given you most meaning, satisfaction, fulfilment and happiness? why?

Although these may seem like “mission impossible” questions, they will get you thinking and stimulate your unconscious mind for the next bit.


Now, what do you want your tomorrows to be?

There are many ways of going about this.

For example, you could consider what would happen if you relied on your future unfolding from the momentum of your past?

Where will your past take you if you DO NOTHING (other than just let it happen)?

What do you imagine your tomorrows will then be? Is this what you want?

Alternatively, telling your story may have thrown into focus things that you definitely want in your future and things that you don’t.

Sometimes this will be expressed as a powerful aim or purpose that you want to move towards.

Sometimes it may be expressed as something that you want to move away from.

Sometimes both of these will become clearer.

On the other hand, telling your story may not have yielded much to help you clarify your desired future.

In which case, you may want to take a more right brain approach and use your imagination.

For example, imagine you walk into a room and meet the you of 10 years from now (or 5 or 20 or 30 years from now).

Let your imagination, and unconscious mind, describe what you would encounter.

How would you describe this person?

If you asked them to describe their life, what would they say?

How would they explain how they had arrived at their future from where you are now?

You can elaborate on this approach.

You could imagine that the you of 10 years in the future is extremely wealthy and / or happy and ask how that was achieved and what next?

Or, you could imagine the future you as very unhappy or destitute and explore that.

Also, whichever approach you use, you may want to paint the picture of the future you want from all major aspects of your life including, for example:

* your health

* your wealth

* your career

* your retirement

* relationships and family

* your emotional wellbeing and happiness

* your spiritual wellbeing

* your potential

* your contribution and making a difference

* your learning

Or, you may just want to take a right brain holistic view of your future taking into account your values and beliefs about, for example:

* the meaning or purpose of life

* religion

* universal laws

* the interconnectedness of all things

* or any other personal philosophies that you hold dear.

As with examining your past, some challenging questions may be helpful.

For example:

* what do you want the rest of your life to be like? why?

* what would singing your song entail?

* what will give you fulfilment, meaning, happiness in your life? why?

* what do you need to achieve? (and how/) what are your goals?

* what new patterns or trends in your life do you need to bring out the best in you? (to release and realise more of your potential)

* what is your ideal epitaph?

You may want to summarise the opportunities and threats that have emerged in this process.

It’s not that there is a single answer here or an answer that, once found, will remain static for the rest of your life.

This is a process and you will be revisiting your desired future regularly.

However, do choose to capture whatever emerges from this process now.

Envisage your future by telling your story and learn from both with challenging questions.
Use what emerges to set your purpose and your goals.
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