A Simple Way to Create What You Want in Life
How can you squeeze the most out of your life? There is a simple pattern that exists throughout every person’s life. Although you may not have noticed it, you have used it often. Anytime you create something new, whether it is a simple grocery list, or something as complex as your career path, you go through the same process. Yes, this process also applies to the creation of something tangible, such as a table or a car. For this article let’s see how it applies to something far more important than any object, your life. We will look at how you can get more out of your life in the years ahead.
The Process
Like any process, this method consists of sequential steps.
Step 1 – You must see it.
Every creation starts with seeing what you want or desire. When you can visualize it, see it in your mind’s eye, imagine it existing, you have taken the first and major step in creating what you want.
Step 2 – You must give it thought.
When you have the image of what you want to create in your mind, you can begin using your imagination to refine it. For our use, you will come up with clear ideas of what you will become and how you will live your life in the future.
Step 3 – You must take action.
This step may require a bit of planning in total, yet what can you do now that will start you on the path toward the future you desire? What actions will be required in the long run? Planning is essential. As the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Step 4 – You must receive it
When you take the first three steps, the inevitable outcome will be your creation. To get the most out of your life you want to create something sustainable, that will sustain you in the long run. In other words, you will receive the fruits of your labor on an ongoing basis –while continuing to receive them far into the future
Application in Your Life
Let’s look at one way this process may play out in your life. You can naturally adapt it to anything you wish to create. For this example, we will look at creating a comfortable retirement.
Step 1
How do you see your life 5 years in the future? How do you see your life when you retire at age _____? How do you see your life in your final days?
Step 2
Think about where you want to live, how secure you wish to be financially, who you are with, what you are doing, and any other details you can imagine.
Step 3
What actions can you take both now and in the long-term to achieve the lifestyle you wish to create? When planning these steps be sure to include some immediate actions. It is in taking deliberate action that you will ultimately create what you wish, and such action must begin immediately, not sometime in the future.
Step 4
In the interim, you will begin to reap savings, interest, earnings, growth, experience, etc. It is the continued growth of your investments that ultimately give you a comfortable lifestyle if that is what you desire to have created by the time you retire. It is important to keep your eye on the ball and adjust as necessary. When you appreciate what you are creating each year or each month, you will value it far more than if you ignore it.
The S.T.A.R. Approach to Your Life
Using this simple four-step process you can create anything you wish in your life. An easy way to remember it is to think of the acronym STAR, which stands for See, Think, Act, Reap. As stated, this process is everywhere, although you may not have recognized it before. Begin looking for it and you will find that everything you create involves these foundational steps. You have an entire life ahead of you to master it, so why not begin today?
If you wish to know more about using the STAR approach to life to create the life you want, pick up a copy of my bestselling book, Uncommon Sense, on Amazon.
I leave you with the following quote which encapsulates the STAR approach to life. When you first See what you want, you can:
“Sow a Thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an Act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit and you Reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”
– Charles Reade
Go forth, create the life you want to have by making the most of what you do!
Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION.