Read FIND YOUR HAPPY: An Inspirational Guide to Loving Life to Its Fullest Online
Authors: Shannon Kaiser
The fifth and hardest part about setting and manifesting goals is to let go of the how. When we want something, we usually set out a clear path about how we are going to get it. This can sometimes set up a blockade to prevent us from getting what we really want. We try to figure out who we need to call, how we need to accomplish the goal, but nine times out of ten the goal is realized in ways we never thought possible.
For example, say you want a new car and you go to the bank to get a loan. The bank denies you, and instead of refocusing your goal, you give up because the “how” in your mind wasn’t met. You thought getting a loan from the bank was “how” you would reach your goal, but when that “how” didn’t fall into place, your expectations were shattered.
It is hard, but learning to let go of the how and trust that your goal WILL happen is part of reaching your goals. If you continue to focus on the new car and how it will make you feel, then the bank denying you will be nothing more than little bump in the day. No worries, there will be a better way. Let’s say you go to the dealership and they approve you on the spot and give you $3,000 off because of a weekend special. This same scenario happened to me when I bought my dream car, my Jeep Wrangler.
I wouldn’t have received that offer through a bank loan. The moral of the story is, if you give up on your dream because the “how” doesn’t match up to how you thought your goal would be realized then you may not reach your goal. Let go to let your goals come true. The universe always has a plan greater than ours.
The sixth and final part of reaching your goal is to keep focusing on it until it happens. Ninety-five percent of people give up before actually reaching their goal. What about the other five percent? What do they do that makes their luminous dreams come true? They don’t give up. It is as simple as that. Many people believe that focusing on what you want is a good way to start, but after time goes by and they haven’t received what they want in the physical form, they give up and say this “manifesting focus mumbo jumbo doesn’t work.” Then they shift their thoughts to what doesn’t work in their lives, and the negative things that are happening. If they held the thoughts of what they wanted, and continued to say the desire statement out loud every day they will always get what they want. By giving up, the channel to receive what they want is closed down. It can no longer come to you if you are not willing to receive it. I believe this is the hardest, but most important, part of making goals come true: stay clear and focused until you are successful. It doesn’t matter if it takes a week, a year, or five years. Keep focusing on what you want because it is on its way to you.
Create a Magic List
Welcome, friends, to one of the best parts of your
Love
Your
Life
to
the
Fullest
journey. Creating a magic list is as simple as asking, “What experiences of a lifetime do I want to enjoy?” We get to map out what we want, and this is the best tool to access the unlimited potential of being fulfilled at every moment in our lives.
When I was 14, I sat down and wrote on the top of a legal pad, “List of Things to Do Before I Die,” and I started to write. Within 15 minutes, I had already filled up three pages with places, experiences, and things to do. I didn’t realize I had so many dreams tucked inside because this was the first opportunity I gave myself to let them out. Finally, the things I held dearest to my heart had a platform to breathe, to grow, and to live.
A magic list is simply a list of things to do during your life. I don’t like calling it a bucket list because that focuses on kicking the can versus the actual awesomeness wrapped up in each experience. I like to call it a magic list, which I find more fitting since it allows you to unleash the fascination, charm, and glamour that come with creating a powerful life. The list becomes a source of inspiration when you need a little boost. Once created, the magic list also becomes an indicator of what you value most in your life by highlighting the key things you want to experience.
When I think back over the years since I created that original list, the things that stand out most in my mind are the highlights of the special experiences that were on my list like swimming with wild dolphins, owning a Jeep Wrangler, adopting a golden retriever, skydiving, bungee jumping, hang-gliding, cooking well, and the list goes on. All of these experiences conjure up romantic moments of intimate self-expression. When we make a list and work towards checking things off, we show ourselves that we matter. We put time aside to make ourselves feel loved and cared for. Your inner child will thank you, and so will everyone else around you because when you are happy and smiling because you are doing what you love, the rest of the world will smile along with you.
Why make a list of things to do during your life?
Similar to setting goals, making a list can give you focus and infinite amounts of clarity about what you want to achieve in life. If you don’t have a list, but say things like, “Oh it would be fun to skydive, but I could never afford it,” or “I’ve always wanted to be a better cook, but I don’t have the time,” chances are these are just “wouldn’t it be nice” ideas. I know this merry-go-around very well because I played the game for most of my life until I refocused on what I really wanted and recognized that
happiness
must
start
from
within.
When we turn to our special magic list we become focused and excited. When we are excited about things, we are passionate and full of energy. Time, money and energy seem plentiful because when we are inspired, time is infinite and so are the resources related to how and when to achieve our goals.
The list of things to do during your life is the single most important tool to accessing your potential. It is your dream list, so why wouldn’t you want to make one? Life moves pretty fast and it is up to us to make every second count. The whole point of the magic list is to maximize every moment of our existence and live our lives to the fullest. It’s a reminder of all the things we want to achieve in our awesome, fun-filled life so that instead of wasting time in pointless activities and being bored and tired, we are directing our energy fully toward what matters most to us. Are you ready to create an awesome power-punched list? Let’s start by answering some key questions.
1. If you won the lottery and had an unlimited amount of money what would you do with your day?
2. If you were to die tonight what regrets would you have?
3. What is one place you have always wanted to go?
4. What is something you have always wanted to learn?
5. What achievements would you like to accomplish by next year?
6. What have you always wanted to do, but have not done yet?
7. What are your biggest goals and dreams?
8. Five years from now, where do you want to be in your life?
9. Close your eyes. What is the first thing that comes to your mind? Put it on your magic list.
The best part about making this list is that it is all about you so, technically, it shouldn’t be too hard. All you need to do is check in with yourself, ask what you want, and then let your mind go. It doesn’t matter how big or silly a goal may be. The list is for you and your life; no one else needs to put his or her two cents in. If you want to break the Guinness World Record for baking the largest vegan chocolate chip cookie, then go for it. Don’t let the non-vegans stop you. You know what is best for you, and you must always follow that instinct. If your significant other, or family, or boss doesn’t understand, that doesn’t matter for you. We cannot live our lives trying to please the rest of the world because then we end up making everyone semi-satisfied as we sacrifice our own happiness. I am not saying ignore all laws and disrespect those you love, but simply find a balance between what matters most to you in life and move towards that with everything you have.
As you treat your magic list like a free write, make sure to leave the excuses, justifications, and negative posses at the door. They are not welcome here, so kick them out. The only thing you need to focus on is your hopes, wishes, and dreams. Do not be concerned with how goals are going to come true, but focus on the feelings that you’ll get when you accomplish them. What will it feel like when you cook an entire Thanksgiving meal by yourself or when you become a best-selling published author? Put those dreams down, and don’t be creating excuses about why they aren’t going to happen. The only rule to the magic list is to ask what you want. You do not need to solve the problem of how it will happen, so relax a bit and enjoy the process.
Now that you have an awesome blossom list of things to do, share it with people you love. We all have a go-to person or group who is supportive of our dreams. Share your top three with them and watch their eyes light up. When we share with other people, they get excited in the process, too. Plus, enrolling others and sharing your goals makes them more of a reality because you have others to follow-up and hold you accountable. People aren’t there to slap your hand if you don’t go skydiving this month because it is on your list, but they will support you when you do go. When you share yourself with people, they will naturally feel closer to you.
Blueprint Your Life
One of the coolest things about the magic list of things to do during your life is that it sets out a framework for your life. It provides a blueprint for you to do everything you want and more. Imagine being on your deathbed and having no regrets, no incompletes, no karmic drama, just peace, love, and complete fulfillment. That is what this list will do for you. After looking over your first goals, you may see a pattern. Things that are most important to you will rise to the top. You will immediately begin to see what you value most in life. Places you want to go, experiences you want to have, and people you want to meet will all be ready to assist you because you have created a clear intention that you want do these things too. You can set aside special dates to accomplish specific goals. Once you have laid out a grand list you can start circling the ones you want to check off sooner rather than later. You can look at the ones that seem far off and put a date by them. The blueprint for your life sets up a type of corporate you. You are the CEO of you and you get to call the shots. So what will you be doing this month? Skydiving? Cooking class? Reading a book you never read? Dig into life and let your magic list flow.
Vision Boards
All of this magic talk and focusing on what you want is great, but it is missing part of its program. In order to be a superstar manifester, focusing on what you want will yield the best results if you use visualization. One of the best ways to do that is to create a vision board illustrating your goals. It can contain pictures, quotes, things cut out of magazines, anything that inspires you. It doesn’t have to be a concrete image of the specific things you want but simply an inspiring image. The goal is for the vision board to evoke feelings of happiness and fulfillment. For example, things on my vision board are, “Live life to the fullest,” a picture of an elephant trekking in Thailand, a red Jeep Wrangler, and a lottery ticket with the handwritten word: “WINNER.” The vision board is a fun way to let your imagination play. Making the most out of life is simply enjoying every second, and when we create vision boards we can enjoy the process of letting our hearts go wild. So what is it that you want? What things inspire you? Maybe there is a person you admire. Go to his or her website and get their photo to put on your board. Maybe you want to go to Africa. Post a picture of Africa on your board or a plane ticket to Africa or even a symbol that represents Africa to you. Have fun making your dreams come to life in your vision board and let your imagination go. The beautiful part about making a vision board is it puts our hopes and dreams into pictures and sayings on an actual board we can see daily. I put my board on my office door, so every time I sit at my desk, I see the board. I have to update my vision board often because goals come true rather quickly. When you do all of the steps laid out in this section you, too, will become a master manifester in lickety split time.
Awesome
Opportunity:
1. For the next 21 days, focus on something you really want.
2. Make a desire statement and read it every morning when you get up.
3. Spend at least five minutes every day picturing you doing your desire statement.
In
a
Nutshell:
1. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want, to get more of what you want.
2. Practice feeling your goals to make them a reality.
3. The best tool to creating a fulfilling life is creating a list of things you want to do during your lifetime.
4. Creating a vision board will help you manifest faster.
Additional Resources:
Audio Meditation:
Find
Your
Happy:
Motivational
Mantras,
Track 5, “Focus on What You Want” (available on iTunes,
amazon.com
, and
playwiththeworld.com
shop).
“It
is
not
uncommon
for
people
to
spend
their
whole
life
waiting
to
start
living.”
— Eckhart Tolle
T
his is my favorite chapter because if you choose to take in what I share here, you will see gigantic, transformative results in your life. Things you cannot even imagine at this moment will become available to you. Just by saying, “Yes!” to life, opportunities will reveal themselves to you in ways that leave you floored, amazed, and in awe.