2020 Vision for 2020 Part 3: Specific Commitments - 012

In this 3rd episode of the series “2020 Vision for 2020”, we are going to go over the specific commitments section of the life plan.  Just a quick overview of where we have come since beginning this series on life planning:

Episode 10 we talked about beginning with the end in mind by writing down what legacy you want to leave.  The action step was to write what people you designated would say when they eulogize you or after.

Episode 11 we talked about creating categories in your life plan, or what the book “Living Forward” refers to as life accounts.  This includes areas like Spiritual, Intellectual, Physical, Spouse, Children, Co-worker, etc. and writing a purpose statement for each, a statement of vision for where you want to be for your envisioned future when this category is at its best, a statement of current reality, and if applicable an inspiring quote or scripture.

Today is where we form an action plan, or make specific commitments for each life account that will eventually bridge the gap between our current reality and our envisioned future of where we need to be.  It is important to write you commitments as SMART goals.

Specific - What exactly are you committing to?  Non-negotiable Measurable - Quantify the result Actionable - Must start with an action verb such as run, walk, complete, quit… Realistic - Must be attainable, but best if it stretches you Time-Bound - Must have a time period that you will commit to, such as frequency, how many, …  Goals must have  completed by or due date

Make a list of action items for each one of your life categories, or accounts.

Since a life plan is a living, breathing document, make your specific commitment action items incremental while still stretching yourself.  An example may be:

Physical Life Account:

A goal you may have for 2020 would be to run a 5K by the first day of summer.  You can create a specific commitment to go out and walk/run 4 days a week for 30 minutes.  That may mean you just walk four doors down the street in the first 2 weeks, 1/2 block after 4 weeks, incrementally increasing until 45 minutes isn’t enough, so increase your commitment to 45 minutes, then 60 minutes.

Specific Commitment:  Action commitment to do something to get you from your current reality and your envisioned future.

Goals: dictionary.com defines a goal as: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end. Goals will need to be written in the SMART format as well, with the time bound being a specific date to accomplish it.  We will talk more about goals in next week in episode 13.

Action Item: Write specific commitments, action statements for each of the life categories or accounts that you have that move you from your current reality incrementally to your envisioned future for each.

Resources:

Vision Board, Dr. Jack Canfield “Living Forward” by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy Contact Craig