ESTABLISHING A FIRM FOUNDATION FOR YOUR LIFE
THE "SECRET" TO ACHIEVING DEEP ENDURING HAPPINESS
I'm sure I write about this elsewhere (such as in the Philosophy Of Life section introduction), but I cannot emphasize enough how vital it is that you establish an excellent foundation for your life.
Yes, I know that many of you think yours is pretty good. But I beg to differ.
If your foundation for your life grew as you just went through life, learning some good things here and there, I contend that your foundation is not soundly based. It is most likely a pot pourri of random learnings, a good number of them erroneous. And there are likely a number of missings.
Only by building your foundation at least at the level of care that you'd take to build a good house will you achieve a great life - which you might as well do, since you have nothing better to do with your time. That sounds like a glib statement, but it is so true.
There is nothing you can do with your time that will produce more value. Nothing!
And this is a big thing. But if you eat it as you would an elephant, a piece at a time, you'll get plenty of nourishment and you'll be able to run your figurative elephant (mind/body) at the highest level.
WHAT DOES A FIRM FOUNDATION LOOK LIKE?
And, believe it or not, if you don't have that foundation in writing then you don't have a foundation of substance and solidness.
And if you don't have a place to keep it so that you can access it readily, then you have a disappearing foundation that you have to keep propping up so your life house doesn't fall down or crack. I provided one option for you, but you will want to adapt it and/or design your own to fit you. See the contents list for The Reminders Notebook.
WHAT DO I DO?
So, now the question is "well, what do I do to establish a firm foundation for my life?"
You do a quickie overview, using the SQ3R learning tool, and set up of the following items, going back later and tying them down one at a time, enjoying the fruits of your work as you progress through life.
Yes, there is alot here, and, yes, refining it will take some time. And, yes, it is easy to drop the project and settle for alot less. But I'd recommend you do whatever is necessary to solidify each of the key items. And you'll see that doing this will actually add to your happiness as you go, even before you are "finished" devising the whole foundation.
And, yes, I do recommend you do the learning approach I discuss, where you do a quicker "putting together" of the pieces where you first skim the cream off of the top of each area, then going into depth later - and addressing the priorities in order of impact. See Authentic Learning - and then do it, for the rest of your life, as it will yield a tremendous return in terms of living a much better life! (You have lots and lots of time to do the learning and to do the foundation building. It'll probably be done in 1/2 or 1 hour sessions, but you'll do longer sessions on days that will focus on this, for, say, 4 hours at a shot.)
Throughout your life you will, if you are wise, always be Pacing yourself, so it is always easy and so you're always in control.
Set up your notebooks and then start filling them, writing a few quickie pieces of your life philosophy and a short summary of how you view or want to view life.
Guiding Credo, Rules, Standards, Values For Life This should be a part of your Life Plan, or you'll meander through life bumping into alot more walls than you would otherwise.
A very clear, written plan. (The alternative is: No plan, no direction, no arrival at where you want to be, but lots of meandering and wandering) You'll probably start off with one of the simple plan formats, and then build from there. See Planning Forms - Overview And Links, but don't forget to at least read the overview of the planning section
A coach/consultant to guide in the construction, correct errors Although you'll have to do most of the leg work and writing, your consultant can help you correct some things that you are blind to or just don't know better.
Good ones are hard to come by, but it'll be worth your time to find someone good. If you are in a lower budget situation, then use one of the programs, such as Jack Canfield's set up.
Building your Life Skills, including Relationships. If you don't learn to think well and to problem solve and make decisions, then you'll waste a whole lot of time and experience needless problems.
Live an 80/20 Life. This life is one where you only allow the highest impact, highest priorities into your life (while doing, of course, the necessary maintenance and earning). This is how you would best run your life, remembering, of course, to pace yourself and to fill yourself up .
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