Who do you want to be?

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Where do you want to go with your life? I recently ran across this fabulous exercise. Project yourself five years out in the future and ask yourself...

• Which qualities have I developed in myself?
• Which are the most important lessons I have learned?
• What have I done for others that I feel most happy about?
• How did I manage to stop underestimating myself?
• How did I manage to stop underestimating other people?
• How did I manage to stop pretending that I cannot do things?
• Which kind of powers and abilities did I discover in myself?
• Which kind of powers and abilities did I find in others?
• What can I do right now in order to be this person in five years?
• If it feels right, make a commitment to yourself to make this vision reality.

Part of what I love about this is that it's not just who you want to be, but how you want to relate with the people around you.

--

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst (sm)

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Comments

[Tshombe]

Curt,

This is great stuff. Thank you for offering this reminder.

Sometimes we get stuck in day-to-day "things" and wonder why we aren't going anywhere.

These questions remind me of Dr. Dõv Baron's idea he calls "Consequential Thinking." It involves much of what you offer here, in terms of getting crystal clear (and adding intense emotion to it) what/how it is we want in our future to be (what it looks like, tastes like, feels like, smells like, sounds like) AND likewise scripting our future as it will be if we stay as we are in the next 5, 10 or whatever years.

What an eye-opening exercise!

Thanks for bringing it to our attention because our life is meant to be lived intentionally and by design rather than by accident or by default.

-----
"Do you know you have the power to inspire?"
The Inspiration Nation

[Pete Aldin]

Curt, this is an uncanny extension of the converation we've been having at Great Circle which started in http://www.greatcircle.com.au/2007/04/10/the-question-that-changed-it-all/ and has continued in http://www.greatcircle.com.au/2007/04/13/being-doing/

...about 5 year plans and being versus doing...

(Gonna stick a quick link to this post in my comments) These are sensational questions and a sensational "going deep" in our thinking and planning.

[Scott McArthur]

Great post Curt. Made me smile and think and that's good enough for me anyday!

Might I suggest one additional statement:

"Live life with ooomph!"

Cheers

[Harold Thompson]

Wow. I'm something of an introvert so yeah, those questions do pop in my head from time to time. But never in one go like this. Makes one stop and re-evaluate just how low in life one has fallen. Well, to many people anyways.

Also reminds me of Tim Ferriss' work but this one his is more about on the extrovert's side of things. He's got his own website www.fourhourworkweek.com where he espouses doing less with more productivity so one can enjoy life to the full and do what one has always dreamed of.

Let me know what you think about it. It would be interesting to hear other people's opinions. I want to know if I'm in good company or not.

Thanks!

[Marie]

A nice post, thanks Curt it is very interesting. To have all you want in life, "make a commitment to yourself to make this vision reality".

Harold: I have read Tim Ferriss' blog and i found it interesting, i mean his book "The 4-Hour Work Week". Might as well purchase a copy of it one of these days.:-)

Thanks!

[Jack]

Yo Harry. If you like Tim so much he's got a book coming out. Check out http://snipurl.com/1ilc1 and you can get it.

[Jasmine]

Hey Jack, thanks for the reference. Tim's book was already out actually. It was sold out that's why there's no stock available so far.

Anyway, you can make an order now so you can have a copy as soon as the stocks will arrive.

[Janice]

Hi Curt,

Great post indeed. I agree with you that it's not just who you want to be, but how you want to relate with the people around you, from some of the points listed in your post. I especially like the one "If it feels right, make a commitment to yourself to make this vision reality."

As mentioned in a report of an interview given by Bob Proctor, which he used the Wright Brother analogy. The Wright brothers didn't care that some scientists said "you can't fly" They just make a commitment to themselve to make their vision reality and now we've benefited from their vision to be able to travel by air (fly) and visit other countries.

Cheers
Janice

[Rebecca]

I love this! All good questions that really make you think about your focus and goals in this life. What are you doing to makethese goals a reality? And what are you doing that are self defeating?

Thank you for the great post!