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“You are not given a dream without the capacity to make it a reality.. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull.

This piece is about choosing where you are going to be in 1000 days (i.e., three year’s time). Before you sceptics come up with your “yeah, buts,” let me say that part of me agrees with you! I’m usually wary about the idea of having a grand plan knowing that plans and reality can be very different. Real life can sometimes turn out to be much better than our plans! But the idea behind this piece is to identify key areas in your life and to really visualise what you want in them. After all, this is about looking at who you would like to be 1000 days from now and making your fantasies a reality.

Step 1
The first part of this is actually writing down all the amazing, wonderful ambitions you have for various parts of your life. This is the first part of making them real. It may take a couple of days to do this. The end of a holiday is an excellent time to do this; the chances are you will feel relaxed, positive and more open to change. Then choose a quiet place to do this by yourself. Get some blank paper or open a new file on your computer. Then choose a page for each of the following areas: Career, Relationships, Money, Spirituality/Meaning, Health, Personal or whatever areas you want to create goals in. Write the heading at the top of each page. Then close your eyes and fantasise about what you really really want in each of these areas of your life. Write them in a series of bullet points. Leave the “yeah, buts” at the door. There will be time to look at them later! Then just write and write about what your ideals/fantasies would be under each of these areas. For example, under career you want to be earning 150,000 a year, running your own business, being a manager. Under personal goals, you could have that you want to visit Egypt. Do not censor yourself. Allow yourself to write for 10 minutes for each of these headings. Read them back and see what hops up. Now leave them for a while.

Step 2
The next step is to re-visit your goals and see what really grabs you. Now, re-organise your goals by 1 year, 2 year and 3 year headings. (This is easier to do in a computer file but if you have it on paper; use another sheet for these headings). You should now have a clear set of goals grouped by heading and timeline. At this stage you may decide to add, delete or amend these goals.

Step 3
For each of the headings (money, relationships etc) you have chosen, select one goal in each of the year brackets and then decide what is the next step you can take to begin making them a reality. One delightful thing about doing this exercise is that it is almost as if the universe conspires with you to help! It also helps to be open to the way this could come about. I did this exercise about 2 months ago and one of the things I had on my list was having a makeover. I recently met a woman who does this sort of work and it turns out that we were able to barter our skills! This now means that both of us get to achieve a goal without it costing us a penny. Those of you that had your “yeah, buts” now get a chance to exercise your sceptic muscle! Do a reality check on these goals. If you are over 40 and have hardly ever exercised, it is unlikely you will get picked to play for Manchester United…but there’s no reason why you couldn’t join an over-40’s football team!

Step 4 – Keeping It Real
No doubt when you do this exercise at the beginning, you will be full of enthusiasm but it’s very easy for our most secret and dearest hopes and ambitions to get swallowed up in the rush of daily living. Therefore, this last step is the most crucial in some ways. Write down your goals and keep them near you, at your computer, by your bedside…somewhere where you are constantly reminded of them. Only choose 3-4 as more will probably seem overwhelming and make a decision to take some action (no matter how small) to making them a reality. Do not get too fixed on the exact nature of your goal. For example, if you desire to meet the man/woman of your dreams and then meet a great person who happens to earn less than you, or you are living 50 miles away, don’t immediately dismiss them! Your vision is something that needs to be revisited every 3-6 months. Set aside time in your diary to revisit, re-evaluate and re-write your goals. Enlist the support of a friend or a coach to keep you on track. On the other hand, don’t be surprised to find that some of your goals have come true almost effortlessly once you take the time to write them down and think about them. As Walt Disney said “if you can dream it, you can do it!” Go for it!