THE NEXT JEN

Let’s be real: life is never perfect.

Social media has a clever way of deceiving all of us. No matter how rich, successful, or good-looking someone is, they do have their set of challenges they’re dealing with. Those obstacles may be inherently different than yours or mine, but the truth of the matter is that facing problems throughout our lives is guaranteed and sometimes your reaction to them is the only part you will be able to control.

Now that the ugly truth is out of the way – let’s talk about defining your perfect life, regardless of hurdles!

With all the free time on my hands, I’ve been thinking a lot about my personal aspirations. It’s funny how quickly life can get away from you when you aren’t paying close attention. Considering the current predicament, being stuck inside and removing all foreseeable plans from the calendar has really narrowed my focus and eliminated some of the distractions I’ve *unconsciously* relied upon to justify a year’s worth of procrastination regarding specific goals I had set for myself. Maybe you’re feeling the same way.

It all comes back to your “WHY”. Why were you setting goals for yourself in the first place? I’ll be the first to admit… somewhere along the way, I had lost my “why”. Between all of the mundane tasks of life – corporate job, moving, wedding planning, etc. – I had set aside the personal goals I had sworn up and down I would complete in 2019/2020. My “why” had been a blurry mirage on the endless landscape that was my present. Recently, while getting ready for a long day at the home office, I was overcome with the question while brushing my teeth. It took looking into a mirror and asking out loud, “what is it that you actually want?” to wake up and smell the roses. The truth? I didn’t have a clear answer anymore.

A wise mentor once told me, “build the well before you need the water.”

Of course, I want to be happy. I want to get married. I want to make money. I want to be fit. I want to be free. But these are only the bones of a skeleton; a very general list of fairly universal desires amongst our society.

In order to reevaluate your life’s direction and refine the process in which you choose to move forward, you need to flesh this dream life out. And to be frank… you need to do it in writing. Think of all the little tasks that are so fleeting, evaporating away from your mind only to remember the last second? (Or not at all!) What’s the difference when it comes to your desires in life? How can one create goals without knowing what those goals will amount to? Why bother to accomplish a goal if you don’t have a reason to?

How can one create goals without knowing what those goals will amount to? Why bother to accomplish them if you don’t have a reason to?

So don’t start with re-writing your goals. Instead, write down your dreams. One hundred of them, in fact.

If it sounds like a silly task – well, I thought so at first too. It seemed like a futile exercise that wouldn’t amount to anything but feeling more uninspired and down on myself than ever. But surprisingly, it had the complete opposite effect. I found myself dreaming up crazy adventures and accomplishments that I hadn’t ever considered before. With that budding excitement came a sudden inspiration for redefining goals I had abandoned.

Remember, this isn’t about the how. GOALS are about the how. Writing down 100 dreams is about the why.

It had been a few years since I had completed this exercise on my own, and when I found my old list I was astonished to find that I was able to cross off so many of the dreams I had written down originally.

It is more challenging than it sounds, but this is not something you need to share with the world. This can just be for your eyes only. (or you and your partner) You can keep it in a journal or tape it to your mirror. But don’t keep it far from your sight – use it to fuel you on days where the sun shines and to encourage you on days that seem to suck the life out of you. Highlight the ones that become a reality; celebrate them! You’re free to edit and add as many as you’d like.

Don’t let your hope die. Never forget your ‘why.’

And honestly… why not? You probably have the time.

All the best,

Jen