“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
In 1992, Matthew McConaughey, a wise man from Texas, wrote down ten things he wanted from himself that he did not have at the time. He lost this list but later found it. When he read it he said (in his deep southern drawl), “Son of a gun, Matthew, you actually achieved all of those things that you wrote down.” Why is this? How could we each benefit from this exercise? What would we write down? Let’s dig in.
There is a scripture in the Bible that says something like, “Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.” Allow me to tie that to another quote that I think about often; Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” These two ideas merge together to essentially say that if you and I do not plan out the things we want to do or become, we will not go in that direction…we will fail because we cannot become someone or something we are not actively working towards. We have to have a vision or idea of where we want to go and who we want to become as we set goals for ourselves. If failing to plan means planning to fail, the opposite is true–planning leads to winning, growing, becoming.
So let’s ponder the path of our feet! It is mid-March. How are we doing with those New Year’s Resolutions? Are we satisfied with our progress? How can we improve? I want each of us to take Matthew McConaughey’s advice and envision our long-term selves as we review our short-term goals. Here’s how to do it:
First, write a list of 10 things we want from yourself in the next decade (or two). Think long-term (I have some suggestions below). Second, choose how often this list will be reviewed; it can be often, like once a week or once a month…or it can sit on a shelf somewhere and gather dust for the next several years! Regardless of what we choose, Matthew McConaughey says it will eventually find us and we will be shocked to find that we have accomplished much of what we set out to do and become. And third, celebrate the steps we have taken, the progress we have made! Of course we may have taken a few steps sideways at times but that is okay. We are human and part of the learning process is discovering what does not work.
In case that first step seems daunting, here are some questions to get us started in pondering the direction of your feet over the next 5, 10, or 20 years:
- What are your deepest desires or aspirations?
- What values do you wish to be remembered for?
- What exact outcomes do you hope to achieve professionally?
- What is most important to you?
- Who is/are the most important person/people in your life and how will you prioritize meaningful time and make memories with them?
- If anything was possible financially, what would you do? How would you spend your money?
- What do you want to do or try but you feel too afraid?
- What keeps you up at night?
- What would your ideal life look like in 5-20 years? What job would you have? What would you be doing with your time? What hobbies would you pursue in your free time? How is your health? Are you involved in any community/religious/physical groups? How is your spiritual health?
- If you were given an expiration date due to an hypothetical terminal illness, how would you shift your priorities to make space for the things that matter most? What are those things? How can you give space to those things TODAY?
- What are the things you most enjoy doing?
- What do you value? What are your priorities?
- What are you passionate about?
- How do you want to improve/learn/grow/be stretched?
- What is your “why?” What makes you tick? How will the goals you are working to set benefit you/others/lead you to a greater good?
There are so many ways you could go about this goal setting/vision creating exercise for your next decade or two. However you choose to do it, I strongly encourage (even urge!) you set aside a few minutes to really consider where you want to be in ten years. Write it down! When you find this letter down the road, I want you to be happy that you took the time to manifest your future self into existence, because that is exactly what you are doing. 🙂
Best of luck to you as you ponder the path that your feet WILL walk over the next few years. My best to you as you become the most amazing version of yourself.
With love,
Melissa
Melissa Cluff is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in North Texas, providing face-to-face and telehealth therapy options to clients in Texas.
References:
- Cluff Counseling: “Bookending” Your Day With Morning and Evening Routines
- Cluff Counseling: NEW YEAR, CHANGED YOU
- Cluff Counseling: Making 2018 Your Year: Resolutions
- Cluff Counseling: Mantra Your Way Into 2025
- Cluff Counseling: Measuring Your Success
- Cluff Counseling: Put Yourself on Your Christmas List this Season
- Cluff Counseling: The Year of MORE
- The Exceptional Skills: 45 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself to Discover, Write, and Accomplish Your Goals
- Facebook: Matthew McConaughey Reel
- Thought Co.: Quotes About the Importance of Words
