5 Steps To Creating A Life You Love

5 Steps To Creating A Life You Love
You're probably reading this because you want to make
changes in your career or another important area of your
life. Maybe you don't know exactly what those changes
should be - or perhaps you know but are having trouble
actually carrying them out.

I'd like to share a simple 5 step process that will help
you find clarity and achieve your goals as painlessly as
possible.

STEP 1 Analyse where you are now.
Ask yourself these 3 important questions:
1. What's great about your life or job, right now? You'll
want to make sure these elements survive any transition.
2. What are your skills and strengths? Consider taking a
psychometric instrument such as the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator. The MBTI highlights your natural strengths and
provides useful insight into the sorts of roles and
environments which would allow you to flourish.
3. What motivates you? Identify your top values by
reflecting on what you most enjoy doing, and asking
yourself why that activity is important to you. For
example if you enjoy writing, why is that? Self expression,
creativity, or communication are all possible values you
might respond with.

STEP 2 Where do you want to be?
Paint a vivid picture of what you would like to be doing
and where you would like to be doing it.
Make sure this vision of your new work and lifestyle gives
you the opportunity to express your most important values.
Find something that symbolizes this endpoint for you. Maybe
a photo, or a quote, or a clipping from a magazine. Display
it prominently! If part of the problem is that you don't
have a clear idea of where you want to be, try to pin down
what it is you don't want. This is usually a lot easier!
List tasks, environments, types of people, situations and
topics that drain, irritate or upset you. Then turn it
round - what would the opposite look like? If you have too
many potential avenues, prioritise. Which one would you
most regret never exploring?

STEP 3 Bridge the gap
Turn your vision into SMART goals (specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic and time bound)and break these down
into smaller steps. Assign dates. If you don't know what
all of the actions are, who do you need to talk to, or what
desk research can you do, to find out? Put your plan
somewhere you will see it every day.

STEP 4 Remove obstacles
What's stopped you achieving goals in the past? How can you
prevent a repetition. What potential new obstacles do you
foresee. How can you avoid them? What additional resources
do you need: time, money, people, information? What do you
need to do to put these in place. Isolation is a common
obstacle. Enlist the support of family and friends and keep
them informed and interested in what you are doing.

STEP 5 Keep Going!
Create some momentum - try to do something small towards
your goal every day. Be philosophical: treat "failures" as
part of the learning curve. Celebrate as you tick off each
milestone Perseverance is key. Keep your sense of humour,
and remember nothing worthwhile is ever easy!

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Sarah Cooper is a career and personal coach who specialises
in working with people who want to put their passions at
the heart of what they do. Before qualifying as a coach,
Sarah worked first as a solicitor before moving to the
voluntary sector, where she worked in marketing for 8 years
for two of the UK's leading charities.
To kick start your transition to working at something you
love, visit http://www.cowsfrommywindow.com