What do you need to focus on today to ensure that you have an outstanding tomorrow?

Where you are today has been determined by the decisions you made yesterday and the day before and so on. Your today has happened because of the ‘Power’ you gave it yesterday. Your ‘Power’ is the culmination of your thoughts, feelings, emotions and what you tell yourself.

So what needs to change today to make tomorrow the most outstanding day? What things do you need to bring into your world today to create the tomorrow that you desire?

Are you going to wake up tomorrow morning and say to yourself,

“I have so much to do today. I have to do this and this and this and by the time I’ve done all of these things, I’ll have no time for the things I truly want to do. There are so many demands on me right now. Life sucks.”

What if you were to wake up tomorrow morning and say to yourself,

“Today, I have a fair amount of things to do, but, if I concentrate on getting the ‘have to do’s’ done first, then I will be free to do the things I want to do later.”

How much different would it feel if you were to change the way you talk to yourself? For example:

“It’s too hard. I can’t do it.”

Change it to:

“It’s a challenge, but I’ll give it a go.”

What we focus on is what we will find evidence of, to the exclusion of everything else. We can only experience what we search for. So, why not search for the positives in your life. Give the positives all the power you can and take the momentum away from the negative. You might be surprised by the result.

What you value most in life is really what makes your heart sing. What lights you up. When you discover what you value, decision making becomes easier, choices become more apparent and your vision for the future becomes clearer.

Your values are your compass. They guide your every decision. Those who know their values and live by them become the leaders of our society. If you want to live the deepest level of life fulfillment, you can achieve this by deciding upon what you value most in life, what your highest values are and then committing to live by them every single day. Too often, people have no clear idea of what’s important to them. They go through life just floating by, never truly knowing where they are going. If you are not clear about what’s most important in your life, then how can you ever expect to lay the foundation for a sense of self-esteem, much less have the capacity to make effective decisions? 

If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation where you were unable to make a decision, chances are, that’s because you weren’t clear on what you valued most. All decision making comes down to values clarification. When you know what’s important to you, making a decision becomes easy.

Know that the direction of your life is controlled by the magnetic pull of your values. They are the force that is constantly leading us to make decisions that create the direction and ultimately the future of our lives. The only way for you to have long term happiness is to live by your highest values and consistently act in accordance with what we believe our life is truly about.

How do we do that? You can start by asking yourself these questions.  Where do you spend most of your time? Where do you spend most of your money? What do you think about the most? These questions will help you to figure out what is most important to you. Once you have listed these, put them in order of most importance. Then, write them on cards and place them all around you. On your work cubicle. In your kitchen. On the back of the bathroom door. Anywhere you can see them regularly. Review them regularly and keep them up to date as often as possible. If something doesn’t feel right, then it may need to go down the list or be taken off completely. This is your list. Make it your own. 

By using this technique you are focusing your mind and training it to go into ’seek mode’ for the things that are most important to you. Soon, you will begin to see people and opportunities that are around you that you didn’t notice before. Knowing exactly what we value is the key to creating an authentic life of meaning and purpose.

Whether you are running a household or running a life, you make hundreds of choices and decisions a day. Decisions about what to do next, what is important, what is going to get done and what is going to get left out.

Our lives are built on the decisions and choices that we make each day. By focusing our minds on what is truly important to us, we will begin to notice more opportunities and get into action around them.

The first step in this process is to clearly define what we value. Start by listing 5-7 values and priorities in your life. The key here is not to stop at a one word answer. Break it down into the simplest, most complete definition you can. For example, if you have a value for ‘Family’ don’t stop at that one word. That word can mean something entirely different to any two people. Write out exactly what it is about family that you value. Is it the love and closeness of your immediate family or spouse? Is it being able to depend on them and vice versa? Or is it the boisterous laughter and fun times with your extended family that you value? And remember, there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ values. This is a self discovery process!

Once you have identified 3-5 values, the next step is to write them on note cards. Use one card for each value and its definition and keep them handy in your purse or by your bed. If you want to go to the head of the class, write a few goals out as well. Read over them first thing in the morning, before you go to bed and as you have an opportunity during your day like when you are waiting in line or stuck in traffic. Don’t worry about memorizing them. Just read them over a few times a day.

By using this technique you are focusing your mind and training it to go into ’seek  mode’ for the things that are most important to you. Soon, you will begin to see people and opportunities that are around you that you didn’t notice before. Knowing exactly what we value is the key to creating an authentic life of meaning and purpose.