I want you to make room for joy and gratitude! Create an experience from a place of pleasure.
Sometimes we get busy or go through challenging times. It’s easy to lose track of joy in our lives. We know things have to change and we set out to seek new frontiers.
I want you to seek the wave of fun and kindness that gives you the momentum to do so.
Simply making a new list of goals is not going to get you there. Most of us don’t even expect ourselves to succeed.
Let’s stop doing that! Yes! Please don’t do it. Stop making plans in meaningless lists like this:
- Lose weight
- Work out more
- Eat healthier
- Read more books
- etc…
…You know, lists of things we write down and then never do. The good intentions, that are daydreams at best, and an utter waste of time.
I’d like to invite you to do it differently
Start by writing down stuff that makes you happy and elevates your soul. Explore things you want to experience, learn, and create. Dream big and be unrealistic. I want you to explore the path of pleasure and let your dreams be fueled by excitement.
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail or lose anything?
Let yourself be driven by love, joy, and excitement.
Everything else is a waste of time. I spent too many years of my life setting joyless goals based on deals I thought I had, to fill expectations and pressures I placed upon myself.
My goals were removed from who I was, what made me happy, and what I really wanted in life. I tortured myself to attain them, and then resented myself for falling short (or I decided to just drop the ball altogether). It’s painful and frustrating.
Sound familiar?
Do this instead:
- Spend some time looking back at what you gained and learned in the past year.
- Map out what you want to LEARN, EXPERIENCE, ACQUIRE and CREATE or maybe even improve in the upcoming year.
- Map out the stuff that excites you– the stuff that jumpstarts your drive.
- Most importantly – frame this with activities and practices that can get you there.
Personally, I take my crazy ideas and map out what I need to do to get there. Even if it’s hypothetical, I dork out over mapping possibilities and best case scenarios, and then add ALL the things I need to happen for it to come to life, including my mindset (delusions of grandeur) along with conscious habits around it.
No! I’m not a fan of setting reasonable goals.
That’s just boring. Nothing great has ever been created by setting reasonable goals with small tangible steps towards mediocre results. Boring! Uninspiring. Don’t waste your time.
What I’m suggesting is to let your imagination run wild into the things you want to create and experience, and then build a framework to attain them. AIM HIGH! You can’t build what you don’t dare to dream.
I want you to have fun with life and be excited about what lies ahead. When I learned how to set up fun frameworks to grow and learn – my whole life shifted. Anything seemed possible and at the very least, it was always fun.
Here are my 10 favorite practices I use to map out a life I love, filled with joy, gratitude, and excitement.
- Let your imagination run wild. What would you do if you had nothing to lose? Allow yourself to exercise your delusions of grandeur, deepest desires, and wildest dreams.
- Start with the easy, fun, and most unrealistic stuff. Do the stuff that elevates your spirit and excites your body and soul. Do what energizes and jumpstarts your drive. Do the stuff that blows your mind!
- Become a master of time. Well, maybe not a master, but understand how scheduling and timing matter. Schedule your commitments, fun activities, experiences, and things you want to create. Manage your time and energy without getting rigid. Fluid, flexible – fun.
- Develop some discipline. It’ll free up your time. You will develop a sense of clarity and a new level of freedom. Your life should feel like it’s your choice! Create frameworks and triggers that help you get to where you want to go.
- Learn how to say ‘yes’ without resentment and ‘no’ without regret. If you know who you are and how you want to show up in this world, then this should become easier over time. Don’t sacrifice your plans out of a false sense of obligations.
- Know your Modus Operandi. Understand your strengths and build on that, then go find fun ways around your weakness. No need to avoid them. There are plenty of alternative routes. Get creative. It’s an opportunity to learn something new.
- Keep a positive mental attitude. Be playful and infuse activities you dread with fun. You are supposed to enjoy life. Otherwise, why are you doing it? For whom? Remember, it is unlikely that you will create anything of real value if you loathe the process.
- Practice gratitude every day. A quick list of 5 items in the morning that make you feel grateful will suffice. I know we hear this all the time and it seems so simple. That’s because it is. Just do it! See what happens.
- Have integrity. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Make sure your actions are aligned with who you want to be. Life is easier when you learn how to clearly communicate. No need to make excuses. Everyone will know you are lying anyway.
- Keep good company. Build relationships with like-minded lovers of life. People who want to do and experience life to its fullest. Nurture relationships with people who share your joy. Invest in people who elevate you. And set healthy boundaries around those who you feel weigh you down or distract you. It’s okay to love people from a distance.
I’m sure you wonder what these concepts look like in action. Let me draw you a quick picture. This is how I use it in my life.
For example, I do not enjoy writing. I enjoy the result and have many things to say, but I dread the process. If I’m not in the right mindset, I am unable to put anything meaningful on paper. If I don’t honor my MO, I will end up frustrated and unproductive. However, when I feel inspired, the words just flow. I can write novels.
So, I made it a rule to write only from places that spark my imagination.
I love writing out of my friend’s house in L.A. I call it the Zen Palace. I love writing in the hammock in front of my beach bungalow in Thailand. I love writing on airplanes and in airports or hotels. The most I ever wrote was when I spent an entire year traveling. I wrote everything in cars, trains, planes, and boats, and while sitting on the sidewalk waiting for a ride (on my iPhone – thank you Evernote!).
It’s what works…so that is how I do it. I don’t write in offices and at home.
As a result, I decided to plan my writing and editorial calendar around my travel schedule.
Get my point? You can make your challenges fun and work around them.
This year, when you put your pen on paper or your mind to what you want out of the next twelve months, remember:
Plan, map it out, and imagine! Go crazy— And have the audacity to create it from a place of joy, excitement, and true pleasure. It’ll get you there just as fast.
Wherever you are, whatever you may be doing, whatever goals you might have – I am wishing you an awe-inspiring, joyous, and love-filled new beginning.
Lots of love,
Silvia
