In this episode, we discuss the benefits to creating a Life Plan:

• Clarifying priorities. Having a life plan will make you understand your priorities and how they work together
• Maintaining balance. Balance is not equal but appropriate attention to the things that are in our lives
• Filtering opportunities. Having a Life Plan gives you clarity on what opportunities you need to pursue and which you can let go
• Facing reality. You can only improve if you take responsibility
• Envisioning the future. To make the most of the day, you need to keep your eyes on the future
• Avoiding regrets. You don’t want to finish life with regrets. Optimize your life for regret minimization

“People lose their way when they lose their why. The reasons for creating a Life Plan are as varied as there are people. But the important thing is to connect with your reasons. What are the benefits you see to creating a Life Plan?”

In this episode, we talk about understanding what a Life Plan is:

Characteristics of a Life Plan:

1. It is created by you and for you.  A Life Plan has to flow from your heart. It is created by you and for you
2. It describes how you want to be remembered. A life plan doesn’t leave anything to chance. You can be intentional about how you want to be remembered
3. It articulates your personal priorities. A life plan gives you the chance to create a vision for yourself that is separate from what your family or others want from you
4. It provides specific actions necessary to take you from where you are to where you want to be in every major area of your life
5. It is a document that you can tweak and adjust when necessary. A Life Plan is flexible and it is a manifestation of an ongoing process

When faced with a negative situation, ask:

“What does this experience make possible?”

Your attention will move from the past which you can’t do anything about to the future

When formulating your Life Plan ask three important questions:

1. How Do I want to be remembered?
2. What matters the most?
3. How can I get from here to where I want to be?

In life, it is easy to drift off course despite our best efforts. Such drift can happen because of four reasons:

1. Being unaware. We can drift because we don’t know what is happening, or what is really at stake
2. It happens because we are distracted. Sometimes we can get caught up in something and lose the sense of time
3. It can happen when we are overwhelmed. Taking too much than we can handle can overwhelm us
4. It happens when we are deceived. When you believe that you have no control over your situation, you can feel powerless and do nothing

Consequences of Drifting include:

1. Confusion. Confusion comes from losing perspective
2. Expense. When you drift through time, you incur costs that include lost time and money
3. Lost opportunities. Without a plan, you have no way of taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves to you
4. Pain. Failure to plan can result in a lot of pain from failed marriages, unfulfilled potential, and so on
5. Regrets. The saddest consequence of the drift is having regrets and asking “if only”

“Life Planning is the exact opposite of the drift. The drift is about passivity. Life Planning is about proactivity. The drift is about blaming our circumstances or other people. Life Planning is about taking responsibility. The drift is about living without a plan. Life Planning is about having a plan and working it.”

In this episode, we embark on a new study of Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy's book "Living Forward".  We begin our discussion on why a Life Plan is necessary and discuss the various chapters we will be covering in the next episodes.