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We are now in the last month of 2019. Which also makes this the last month of this decade. No doubt, December is sure to be hectic, but as is my hope for you and I, that it will also be filled with much love and joy.
As we are nearing the end of this calendar cycle, take some time somewhere in this month for a little reflection, and to makes some plans for the year and the decade to come.
Do you even remember 10 years ago? I’ll be honest and tell you that I had to dig deep into the memory vault to answer that question. The one thing I know for sure is that where I am now in my life is leaps and bounds ahead of where I was a decade ago. I spent the last years re-balancing my life for greater peace and while there were hic-ups along the way, they were no where near as tumultuous as the decade before that. For that alone, I am humbled and in deep gratitude.
So now we stand at the edge of a new decade. This is a wonderful opportunity to take stock of our life at present, give thought to what worked in the past and what needs to be created moving forward. A progress report on our life, a state of the union for our personal world, or just a little soul check-in to see if all is well, because we need to know what kind of foundation we have to build on for the years ahead.
You may say that you are fine with how life is for you right now and wave me off with dis-interest and in reply I would say, that it’s folks like you who should read this post the most. When you are in coasting mode, you may miss out on opportunities that could lead to a richer, fuller life because you close yourself off from other possibilities. If you are not looking outside your bubble of contentment, you may miss out on chances to find even better bubbles.
So if you do nothing else with this blog post, ask yourself this one question, “Who do you want to be in 10 years?”
Did you notice I didn’t ask “where” do you want
to be in 10 years, as in your career, financial life, or your material wealth? Because folks, these are old goal sets. These type of questions are so last century and are why we now live in a world full of corruption, greed, consumerism and one that is sadly, ecologically fragile. This is also why I have focused this post to the status quo folk out there. Is that beautiful bubble of yours equipped to handle the sharp edges that life has begun to throw at us?
Begin with the end in mind.
Stephen Covey
In his best selling book, “The 7 Habits Of Highly Successful People” Stephen Covey’s #2 habit is, to begin with the end in mind. He uses the thought experiment of imagining your own funeral and how folks may eulogize you. Would they talk about your career achievements? Would they talk about all the things you where able to buy and the beautiful home you lived in? Or would they remember you as a kind, loving person who served her family, friends and community well?
I am not suggesting that you consider your funeral within the next decade because there is much more life to be lived. What I will suggest, is that you imagine how you would like to see the world in 10 years times, and how your family, friends and community may be affected should you choose to do nothing but stay inside the happy little bubble you currently live in.
We are incredibly powerful being who effect the world around us just by being alive. Do you want to have full control over your personal power so you can direct it positively, or would you prefer to have life direct it for you instead? That is what will happen if you stay inside that bubble of contentment, you will actually give your power away to the outside world and the fates of time.
The thing is, we’ve all been living in a bubble for a while now – decades actually. It’s time to purposely direct the outcome for the decades ahead.
What Stephen Covey was telling us when he says, “begin with the end in mind” is to think in the macro but live in the micro. So if you want to see a kinder world in 10 years time, then be kinder now. If you want a cleaner environment then start cleaning it now. If you want to see less drugged out people on the streets, start now to teach the youth of today to respect their own bodies.
In other words, live today as how you want your tomorrow to be.
No longer can we expect our leaders to fix the problems our communities are experiencing. We all need to be leaders.
No longer can we expect big corporations to do the right thing for the environment. We need to demand it of them in the only way that will get the message across and that is to no longer support them.
We have the power to design a world for all and not just the lucky few. In the decade ahead, it is the collective consciousness, or the will of the people that needs to create the future and it all begins by asking yourself who you want to become and then taking steps in the years and the decade ahead to make it so.
So when you ask that one question of yourself, don’t forget that the power you possess inside yourself to affect real change in your own world, is the same power that is in everyone of us. That one truth adds an element of responsibility to the answers you might imagine for yourself. So choose wisely, because when enough people’s vision of who they want to be aligns in the world, it’s builds into the even greater potential to create a future that effects us all.
Did that thought burst your safe and happy little life bubble? I sure hope so, because in the years ahead, if we desire a brighter future for ourselves, our loved ones and our communities, we all need to get out of our personal bubbles and design a big, strong and oh, so, bright bubble for us all.
Who do I want to be in 10 years time? Well I imagine myself kinder, healthier and contributing to my community in ways that can show others to be the same. For that to happen, all I need to do in the months and years ahead is to live like it already has and take steps everyday to make it so.
So who do you want to be in a decade from now? After all, you can imagine yourself anyway you want. A new year, or a new decade, is a great starting point to commit to making better choices for yourself and by extension the world around you. But in reality, any moment in time or in every breath you take, you can decide who it is you want to be and the power is within you to make it so.
