When you consider the future, what do you see? Do you see a specific goal which you are well on your way to achieving?

Do you see an uncertain future with no relation to your current day-to-day existence?

Do you just see the calendar with days passing, with an unquantified future ahead?

Do you count backward: 623 days from now, I receive my master’s degree… in 172 days or earlier, I take ownership of my first house…. in 23 days, I finish my first novel.

When we look at end dates and start seeing the relationship between that end date and our present time, we feel a stronger connection to our future self and we sense, in a more visceral way, how our current actions, thoughts and beliefs create that future.

Like my grandfather says, if we don’t know where we’re coming from, we don’t know where we’re going. I recommend you take stock of where you are today. You have been working for ____ years. You’ve been in school for ____ years. You’ve been a parent or guardian for ____ years. You’ve been living with your struggle for ____ months. You’ve been sober for ____ days.

What have you achieved up until this point? Be realistic and be positive about all that you carry within you to this point. If you find your negative voice pointing out how so-and-so has a better job, or so-and-so seems to have closer relationships, tune those out! Focus on something that makes you happy, something that makes you proud, something that makes you who you are.

You are a grand total of achievements: believe me, even getting up this morning is a fantastic achievement!

When you feel more confident about your “wins,” when you actually do the tallying of the different goals that you have already achieved, and when you have a better sense of how your current self is the sum total of your past experiences, ideas, and actions, you will feel yourself in a more empowered space to embrace all that your future self offers you.

We are whole, we are complete, we have been able to accomplish so much, we will accomplish so much more. We occupy our space. We stand our ground, we share our truth, and we move our way through the world with confidence, grace, and enthusiasm!

Now, looking to the future, we intend to do the following:
(insert your goal here) (insert the timeline to achieve that goal here).

So now, when we start going through our days, weeks, and months, we see the path directly in front of us and we see the end point for that path: we see our destination, where we know we will arrive….. With that path clearly delineated in front of our feet, with each day we notch up, we feel even more pride and success while we are in the process of achieving of our goals.

I encourage you to look forward.

Our hopes, dreams, and aspirations await our belief. What a wonderful gift we receive each day! I know you appreciate every single moment of every single day: it’s another day closer to our next big goal.

When we change our perception from just “marking time” to actually counting down towards our desired outcomes, we make a stronger connection.

Forge that connection. Make your vision into a reality, one day at a time. Share with others and encourage others along their paths.

Enjoy the moment!

More links:
Heal your Heart

Express Gratitude for Each Day

Connect with Others

Deepak Chopra, in his gem of a book “Journey Into Healing: Awakening the Wisdom Within You”, has a great quote that I invite you to meditate on.

“As you see it right now, your body is the physical picture, in 3-D, of what you are thinking.”

I’ve found it helpful to use artist Alex Grey’s perceptions as an additional meditation. The link to his Sacred Mirrors website is here:
www.sacredmirrors.org/mirrors.html

To extrapolate my own ideas from Dr. Chopra’s work…

When we look at our body, we see our thoughts up until this point.
When we look at our surroundings, we see our thoughts up until this point.
When we look at our relationships, we see our thoughts up until this point.
When we look at our physical possessions, we see our thoughts up until this point.
When we look at our life, we see our thoughts up until this point.

When you look around you, what do you see?

Are there exterior changes you’d like to make?

Which changes will you implement in your interior world to bring about those external changes?

In my experience, one way to “jump-start” the match between your exterior and your interior is to act upon your external physical surroundings first. When you externally change, you signal your internal self to “catch up” to your new level of thinking.

When I was in my twenties and travelling around the world, I lived for eighteen months out of a backpack. This type of lifestyle pared me down my bare minimum, and I have the Packing List* to prove it. (I consider the Packing List to be my essentials: everything on that list is necessary to me. Everything off that list is a luxurious bonus, scroll down to see my list).

Now that I’m more settled, I see how easy it is for papers and objects and plastic goods to collect!

It’s time to implement the Packing List into your own space: what’s essential to your life? Anything beyond those essentials is an extra, luxurious, luscious bonus item. Only keep items you consider beautiful, items which you associate with joy and happiness, or anything you absolutely need to thrive.

For your desk:
My best idea for this is to file and store and sort as well as you are able. Only keep “active” files on your desktop. Sort the rest, and every quarter, delete and shred items that are no longer in use or are cluttering your space.

For your room:
Do you feel disturbed or irritable when you walk into your door or into your room? The clutter affects your mental state and blocks your ability to think clearly. Grab a plastic bag or box and walk through your household. Choose ten items that you don’t need and put them in the bag and consciously set them near your door so you bring them to your Goodwill, Salvation Army, or local community center. Practice doing this once every month until you feel comfortable: at that point, whenever you bring something new into your space, make sure an equivalent item moves out of your space.

For your kitchen:
Go into the fridge, freezer, and cupboard and get rid of ten items that are just occupying space and that you know no one will eat or drink. Recycle cans and bottles. Compost any organic matter that will no longer nourish you or your household: it will nourish the earth and turn back into good soil to feed the outside world.

For your closet:
Open the door to your closet and take a look at the hangers, folded clothes, and shoes. What haven’t you worn? What doesn’t fit? What is dated or makes you feel stagnant? Get rid of ten items! You’ll feel better about what you wear and put on your body, and you’ll look better in clothes that reflect who you are.

For your vanity:
How many creams, lotions, nail polishes, brushes and makeup pieces are cluttering up your counter and mirror? Get rid of ten items that you haven’t used, especially old lipsticks, eyeliners and mascaras. Throw these items away as they are no longer hygienic.

For your files:
Another place to practice the Packing List version of “whittling away” includes discarding old papers or tests from school days. Keep special projects that make you feel happy and proud, but let go of essays, notes, exercises, or reports. You’ve already learned how to learn, and if you need to, you will find important information again.

If you have correspondence, only keep special letters from special friends. Discard perfunctory notes. If a card brings a big smile to your face or brings your hands to your heart, keep it: everything else may be recycled!

For your children’s rooms:
If you have kids, now is a great time to encourage them to let go of items that they’ve grown out of. Kids seem to always have a nature collection (rocks, glass, beads, spiders!) — every three months help them choose a collection to return back to nature. If there’s a constant stream of artwork, have your child choose five special pieces each year and keep those in a special folder.

For your library:
Do you have lots of books? Now’s the time to consider making a big donation to your local library, where others may appreciate your selection as much as you do.

Do you have more ideas?
As you get into the habit of discarding, you will find a renewed sense of vigor and energy returning (that’s all energy that was locked up into the physical objects around you) and soon you’ll be in a position where you clearly choose items which you allow your into exterior space. You’ll also find that your interior self also chooses wisely about the energy that you attract to yourself.

More links:
Positive Feedback Works

Change your Perceptions to Change your Outcomes

Heal your Heart

*Packing List for a Big Journey
One big backpack
Sneakers, slippers and waterproof boots
a sleeping back and sleep sack
hooded rain jacket
tent

one pair of jeans, one long skirt
one pair of khaki pants (ideally the kind that unzip to become shorts)
two t-shirts, a long-sleeve shirt, a sleeveless shirt, two tank tops
underwear and socks
a capilene or microfiber top and pants
fleece jacket (for warmth)
wool scarf and knit hat
a travel shawl to cover the shoulders

toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
lotion, deodorant, soap in a container, and solid shampoo

journal, pens, permanent marker, scissors
crayons and colored markers
sewing kit, matches, moist towelettes
mini-screwdriver set
earplugs
an extra pair of glasses

resealable plastic bags to keep moisture out
a large black garbage bag (to use as a tarp or waterproof covering)
spoon, fork, knife, and pocket knife with can opener

insect repellent
camera
*laptop computer optional!