Taking back control of your life is scary, but if you have lost your way it is important and you must do it. Take action now because you should be the conductor when it comes to your life. Even if you have given up control, you can get it back.
Maps were made to help people who are lost find their way.
It is not uncommon for people to go through life with a dream and a plan. The plan is the road map for reaching the dream. Sometimes along the way, people get off track, and instead of the dream being straight ahead, it is off to the side, around the corner, and out of sight. When that happens, people get discouraged and their dreams die. This doesn’t have to be the case. Even if your plans have gone to crap and you have lost your way, today can be the day you start taking back control of your life and your dreams.
Five things to do if you have lost your way:
- Acknowledge that you have gotten off track
- Give yourself a break
- Declare where you want to be
- Make a SMART plan to get back on track
- Take Action Now to work your SMART plan
- Acknowledge that you have gotten off track
Acknowledge You Have Gotten Off Track
One of the first things people are told when they join support and recovery programs like AA is that they must admit there is a problem. If you have stopped following your dream and walking in your purpose, acknowledge it. State out loud, to yourself, that things have gotten off track. Admit that you are not on the path you planned. Don’t make up excuses. Don’t try to figure out reasons. Simply acknowledge that you are off track and that things are not going as you originally planned.
Give Yourself a Break
The next thing you need to do is give yourself a break. Do not punish yourself for getting off track. Do not berate yourself. Show yourself good friendship. This means that while you have made mistakes, done some things wrong, lost focus, or been pushed off track you are a person worthy of another chance. Instead of beating yourself up either literally or figuratively, just give yourself a break. Accept the fact that you are worthy of another chance and that your life is not over. Indeed, you can start from where you are and become what you want to be.
Declare Where You Want to Be
After following the two steps above, take action now to declare where you want to be. This is an important step. The place you originally wanted to be, the path you originally wanted to take may no longer be viable. There are millions of reasons why this may be the case. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you must decide what you want to do, where you want to be. You must decide what you want the next chapter in your life to be. Once you make that decision, declare it in a loud and proud voice. You don’t have to declare it to the world. For this exercise, the world is not important. The important thing is for you to acknowledge it to yourself. Declare who you are and where you want to be.
Make a SMART plan
Once you have declared who you are and where you want to be, make a SMART plan to get to where you want to be. A SMART plan is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. A plan that has all of these elements is more likely to go from plan to completion. People always say, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is why SMART plans are so important. When you put the work in to make a plan SMART you actually see yourself at the finish line and you see a clear way to get from the start, where you are right now, to where you want to be – the end of the line. The creation of a SMART plan is a crucial and inescapable part of taking back control of your life.
Click here to read more about how to Take Action Now with SMART plans.
Take Action Now to work your SMART plan
The final step and perhaps in some ways the most crucial part of the plan is to take action now and work your SMART plan. No matter how much planning, preparation, and dreaming you do, your plan will never happen unless you take action now to make it happen. Action is what makes dreams reality. You must find a way to take action now and follow the plan. Do not accept excuses from yourself. Recognize that you have a new chance, a new opportunity to make your life and your world what you would like it to be.
As you read these words, do not worry that you are not where you want to be. Do not let your heart be troubled or despair. If you are not where you want to be, start taking back control of your life. Think of your life as a train and realize that you are the conductor – you determine what tracks you want to travel down in your life.
So, the question for you this magnificent day is, what are you going to do to get where you want to go?
