Today I want to talk to you about where you are in your life right now and how you got there.

So let’s jump right into it shall we?

YOUR CURRENT RESULTS

Let me start with a question.

Do you like the results you are getting in your life right now?

Said another way….how satisfied with your life are you at this very moment?

Now, if you are like most people your answer is probably something vague.

Something along the lines of…

“I guess it’s ok but…”

or “I guess I’m pretty satisfied with my life right now but….”

So, maybe it’s fair to say that you like some of the results you are getting right now.

Maybe you wish others were a little better than they are.

Or, maybe your life is total shit show, and you don’t like any of the results you are getting right now!

Whatever your answer is let’s start with understanding one thing.

All of those results…whether you like them or not…have one thing in common…YOU created them.

We will dive deeper into that in a bit but let’s get back to the question.

How satisfied are you with your life right now?

Let’s take a minute to really find out so that we have more clarity before we move forward.

QUANTIFY YOUR RESULTS

You see I don’t like vague or superficial answers when it comes to something as important as the results I am currently getting or want in my life.

I like specific answers that I can quantify and monitor on an ongoing basis.

The tool I use to do this is what I call the “LIFE DESIGN DASHBOARD”.

If you want to download your own copy of the dashboard that I use you can go to amanonamission.com/dashboard

But you can make one at home right now.

Take out a blank sheet of paper and turn in longways in “landscape” mode if you will.

Now draw five (5) narrow vertical rectangles about 3 inches apart across the page.

No need to get too crazy with the details but each rectangle should be roughly 5-6 inches tall and an inch or two wide.

Below the bottom line of each rectangle put the number “0” (ZERO).

Just outside the rectangle, on the left, put the number “5” close to the middle.

Now put the number “10” at the top.

Each of these 5 rectangles represent an area of your life that we like to focus on when it comes to tracking results.

We are going to rate each one and, when we are done, we will have 5 “gauges” (like a car dashboard) to give use a visual representation of our current results.

Go ahead and label the first rectangle, or gauge, WORK/CAREER.

The second one CONNECTIONS/RELATIONSHIPS.

The third FITNESS/HEALTH.

The fourth is PLAY/HOBBIES.

And finally, label the fifth section IMPACT/PURPOSE.

Now go ahead and give each section a rating from 0-10 (with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest) on how satisfied you are in this area of your life right now.

So, for example WORK/CAREER…on a scale from 0-10 how satisfied are you?

A “0” (ZERO) would mean you absolutely hate your job and probably want to shoot yourself every Monday morning. 

A “5″ would probably mean your job is tolerable or OK but…it probably doesn’t do more than just pay for beer and a few bills.

And a “10″ would mean you absolutely love your job or career!

Give it a number and fill it in like a gauge on a dashboard.

Now do the same for the remaining 4 sections.

As you do this, for every section that isn’t a “10”,  I want you to start to thinking about what it would take to make this area of your life better.

Write down some ideas on what would be “ideal” and make this section a solid “10”.

Once you fill out each of the 5 sections take a look at your dashboard.

What do you think?

What insights do you get from it?

Where are you “stuck” the most?

Those rankings, the numbers you gave each section, are the results you are getting in your life right now.

And since YOU created them…do you like the results?

HOW DID YOU GET HERE?

Now lets talk about HOW you actually got here.

Let’s start with this little quote….

“Own the choices you have made in your past, but question the ones you continue to make for you future”

Because that is really what it is all about.

Life is all about the CHOICES we make.

It is about the CHOICES that we have made in our lives and how those choices have gotten us the results that we have.

So whether the results you have right now are results that you want… or results that you don’t want… the fact of the matter is that the CHOICES you have made in the past have gotten you to exactly where you are today.

YOUR CURRENT CHOICES

Believe it or not…your current LIFE is a choice.

Going to a job you don’t like day after day?

It’s a choice.

In a relationship that isn’t ideal?

A choice.

Eating shitty foods instead of things that are healthy to lose weight?

Choice.

It’s important to understand that you keep creating the same results by continuing to choose the same thing day after day.

Because remember this…

“What you aren’t changing…you are choosing”

So, the faster you realize that it is indeed a choice…YOUR CHOICE….the faster you can choose to change things.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

But the key is to understand and take responsibility for the fact that YOU are creating those results….even if it doesn’t feel that way.

You have to OWN YOUR SH*T.

Because identifying and owning the choices you have made, and are continuing to make, will give you insight into why your life looks they way it does right now.

Now, I know what some of you are saying…

I didn’t choose to be this way or that way or I didn’t choose for this to happen or that to happen.

Just to be clear…I am not taking about the situations, circumstances and scenarios, and things that you can’t control.

Like an unexpected layoff or an out of the blue divorce.

Those “out-of-your-control” things happen in everyones life, including yours.

Separate those out and get clear on the things that are your choice

What you have in the refrigerator, what job you have, your current relationships, etc.

These are all CHOICES you can control.

And, I am sure there are reasons you make these choices…

In the near future we will examine how to evaluate those reasons and learn from them.

But, that fact remains that CHOICES are why your life looks they way it does right now.

And the CHOICES that you continue to make each and every day are creating your results (wanted or unwanted) in your present and, if you don’t change them, your future as well.

Once you OWN YOUR SH*T you can focus on the second part of the quote which says “question the ones you continue to make for your future”.

THE POWER IS IN THE “WHY”

Once you take ownership of the fact that YOU ARE CREATING YOUR RESULTS by the choices you make it leads to more awareness.

That awareness leads to a deeper of understanding of where you are right now by giving you access to the question WHY?

WHY do you continue to make the same choice day after day?

So when you think about a CHOICE you are currently making, especially one that is giving you an unwanted result, make a list of all the reasons WHY you are making it.

Now take a look at your list and examine those reasons.

Do you like the reasons you are making that CHOICE?

Are they based on your wants, needs and desires?

Or, based on somebody else’s (society, parents, spouse, etc)?

Are they based FEAR (of judgement, failure, etc)?

Are they somehow based on what you are “SUPPOSED” TO DO?

Remember this is all about CHOICES.

So now you get to make another one….

Are those reasons good enough for YOU?

Only YOU can determine whether or not YOU like the reasons for your choice.

Come from curiosity rather than judgement, but be brutally fucking honest about it.

Are those reasons valid and do you like them?

Or, is it time to CALL BULLSHIT ON YOURSELF and start making some changes?

YOU CAN CREATE THE LIFE YOU WANT

Now that you know that your results are created by the CHOICES you make hopefully you are starting to realize and believe that you can create the life you want.

But to do that you need to remember and embrace the mindset that you are the one steering the ship.

Because when you think LIFE just happens to you it takes away your power.

And there is a name for living a powerless life.

We call it living by default instead of living by design.

When you are living on auto-pilot and think that LIFE “just happens” and that it’s out of your control how does that make you feel?

What words come to mind?

Probably things like HELPLESS? OUT OF CONTROL? FRUSTRATED? SHITTY?

And probably the big one….STUCK! 

Now notice that all those words or things that came up for you are FEELINGS.

And all of those FEELINGS that come from thinking you are powerless or that you don’t a choice are very DISEMPOWERING.

Now compare those to feelings like EXCITED, OPTIMISTIC, ENERGETIC, IN CONTROL.

Those sound much more EMPOWERING right?

Of course they do….because they are.

And that’s the key!

By learning to shift your mindset and think differently about life, and your ability to make CHOICES, you can start to FEEL better, more in control, about making the life you want a reality.

So I want you to flip that scenario…I want you to start living your life by design and not by default.

Because LIFE is not happening to YOU…it’s created by YOU.

So finally, let me ask you this…

Do you want to keep choosing your current life and current results?

Or do you want to decide to choose differently and create exactly what you want?

Now if your CHOICE is to keep your current life and the results you are currently getting I definitely wish you all the best.

But, if you decide that you want different results then I have some good news.

On the next episode I am going to walk you through the framework to help you get “UNSTUCK” and on the way to creating the best version of you and your life possible.

You can check it out HERE.