What is success for you? For me it is more than wealth, titles and status. Success is ensuring that I am living true to my values and living my purpose in an authentic way. Success requires planning. The analogy of a map is useful for us to define the following details: origin, destination, vehicle, backpack, landmarks, and route.

Origin:  Who you are

A map has a starting point, where you begin. You can probably relate to conversations where people introduce themselves as a Mother, Teacher, Entrepreneur or Student. These ‘labels’ do not describe WHO the person is. To truly understand yourself and live authentically, have a close look at your values, beliefs, dreams, principles and purpose. Other than the titles that society labels us with, who are you really? To truly know who you are requires reflection on your life experiences, skills, strengths, weaknesses, interests and abilities to give you greater clarity to who you TRULY are. With over 20 years of introspection and now understanding who I truly am, I live by my top values of authenticity; health; connection & love; integrity; service & contribution and variety & learning. When I live true to my values I am true to myself rather than trying to be what I believe society or others want me to be. When you know who you are, you cannot help but experience internal peace.

Destination: A vision of who you want to be

“Who do you want to be?” This is your vision. To create your true vision, it is essential to first understand who you really are, what you value and what you stand for. With love and clarity in your heart and soul; you give yourself permission to live authentically, in line with your true values, dreams and purpose. If you hardly know yourself, then your vision and goals for the future would be unclear. Your destination includes all aspects of your being: the physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual. Based on my own journey of discovering who I truly am, my beliefs, values, and principles are sound and I do not sway from who I truly am no matter who I meet or my life circumstances. If you are living someone else’s expectations then you are cheating yourself of true contentment.

Vehicle: Your Mission

A vehicle is the means by which you can reach your destination. Sometimes it can be understood as your vocation in life. Again, your mission will not be clear until you have been through the process of understanding your true self, who you are authentically. For myself, my mission has grown and changed over the years, however it has always involved vocations that inspire people to see their true worth and create the life they truly deserve. Therefore, I have volunteered in Australia and internationally and currently work as a Psychologist and Personal Coach so people recognise their true value and live authentically. It was only once I was able to understand my authentic self and clearly describe my vision and mission that I could live a life with purpose, dedicated to serving others

Travel Bag: Your knowledge, skills, and attitude

When you travel, what are the essential items that you don’t leave home without? These travel ‘necessities’ that make your journey more enjoyable are also required to live your vision. For instance, what knowledge, mind set, skills, life experiences, conversations and attitudes are required for you to live your dreams? Life is a journey where every experience provides the opportunity for more learning if we choose to do so. I truly believe that everyone has the potential to gain the mind set, skills and attitudes necessary to live the life they desire. However it is the responsibility of the individual to choose personal development as no-one else is able to do this for us. On the journey there are measures of success and times where it is evident that we need a few more supplies in our travel bag. What is it that you need to add? For myself, I love learning each and every day via coaching, reading, great conversations, seminars and wonderful clients for which I am privileged to not only assist them on their journey but strengthen the understanding of myself.

Landmarks and Route: S.M.A.R.T. objectives

  Landmarks confirm if you are on the right track while the route determines the travel time. Thus, in planning your life, landmarks and a route are necessary to achieve your goals. Landmarks are considered measures of your success or sometimes the indicator that something needs to be tweaked. Measures must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. I learnt the hard way by setting major landmarks at the same time and then wondered why I didn’t achieve what I set out to do! Therefore it is essential to set realistic goals that are challenging yet not impossible, as easy goals leave us bored whilst overly ambitious goals that are unobtainable in a given time frame can be disheartening.     

 Anticipate Turns, Detours, and challenges

The purpose of your life map is to minimise hasty and spur-of-the-moment decisions that can make you lose your way. There will always be challenges, detours and potholes in life. They are to be expected! The secret is developing the skills to overcome challenges and importantly the mindset to manage obstacles which are guaranteed when we are heading towards our goals. In life there are things that are beyond our influence as we can’t control other people or some events. Therefore see obstacles and challenges as an opportunity for personal and professional growth, knowing that overcoming the obstacle, gives you greater internal strength and ultimately success.

For you to ponder:

Who are you? What is your vision of who you want to be? What is your mission? What skills, knowledge, life experiences and attributes do you currently have and what do you need to learn? Do you have your clear goals written down? How are you prepared for the challenges that emerge when you are working towards your goals?

I am going to ask you to do something that you may not consciously think about normally. What are the thoughts that fill your head? Would you label them as positive or negative? Whatever your answer, you have the power to create thoughts that are helpful and supportive so that you can live with optimism and create what you truly desire.

Our thoughts create our reality. They determine your feelings, attitude, mindset, outcomes and outlook on life. Not only does your attitude determine what you can and can’t create in your life, your attitude also affects anyone that you come into contact with.

Think about people you know who no matter what is happening, life is tough, hard, sad or hopeless. How do you feel when you are around these people? Now think of someone whom is optimistic, positive and sees a world of opportunities. How do you feel and what do you believe is possible when speaking to someone positive? Ultimately, it is you that determines whether you will have a positive or negative attitude.

Positive thoughts are invigorating and allow you to focus on what is possible in life. Not only do positive thoughts create positive feelings, actions and outcomes, your presence energises people you come into contact with. Conversely, negative thoughts create narrow thinking and exclude the endless opportunities that are available to you. Negative attitudes are draining for the people in your life and people are less likely to want to spend time with you.

A positive attitude attracts like minded positive people, creating greater energy and opportunities whereas a negative attitude repels positive people and attracts people that view life as negative. I know who I would rather be spending my time with!

Remember, what we focus on in life is what we get. What do you choose focus on? How do you view the world? Are you choosing to create a negative viewpoint of the world or one where you focus on positive things with gratitude?

Positive psychology studies shows that a positive attitude promotes better health; better relationships and greater success. Furthermore, a positive attitude is an effective tool for managing day to day challenges and stress.

A healthy self-image creates positive thinking. When you love the authentic you, life is more satisfying; you are more confident and self-assured. Consequently, others around you feel the same way. On the other hand, a negative attitude not only makes you feel bad about yourself but you make others feel the same way.

If you want a healthier outlook in life, work on having a positive attitude. So, what can you do? Well, for starters, you could see a funny movie; play with children, tell jokes, spend time with friends or do something that truly makes your heart sing. Doing what we love and enjoy in life promotes a positive experience of life.

You do not have much to lose by adopting a healthy, positive attitude. Interestingly, studies show that a positive attitude can retard aging, makes you healthier, helps you develop a better stress coping mechanism, and has a very positive effect on all the people you meet every day. So, what’s not to like about a positive attitude? Adopt one today.