The First Step to Reinventing Yourself

We all have goals. Our goals are important. They give us a reason to get up every day and tackle the world. We have things we need to take care of today, big goals we would like to accomplish in the future, and intermediate goals. 

Take a minute to think about what you want. Now, consider what you have to do. Your laundry might require your immediate attention. That wouldn't qualify as something you want to do, but it definitely needs to get done. 

You have responsibilities every month. Bills appear regularly every 30 days or so, and putting them off is not a good idea. Those requirements definitely fall into the "have to" needs basket rather than the "want to" goals file.

Think about your intermediate and long-term goals. If you could snap your fingers and accomplish one of them immediately, what would it be? Have you made significant progress in that direction, or has forward momentum been slow? 

If there are important goals you haven't yet realized, it's probably not because you're lazy. You may work towards those goals and think about them all the time. Often, we don't create the reality we so hungrily desire because we haven't become the person capable of making it happen.

Change Requires Growth

The first step to having the reality you desire is to think about who you want to be rather than what you want to achieve. If you desire a specific financial reality and haven't realized it yet, it may be because you haven't become the person who can make that reality happen. That is not a shortcoming. Don't think of yourself as inferior. It is a fact that you need certain skills to create specific outcomes. 

That means reinventing yourself. Instead of thinking about a goal, think about actions that transform you into the person likely to accomplish that goal. You must grow into that person before you see the desired change.

Goals Require Systems

Focusing on goals is good. Writing them down is even better. Written goals improve your chances of achieving them. Another way to give yourself more opportunity to reach your goals is to incorporate systems into your daily routine. 

Systems are formulas. They are repeatable habits. If you follow a formula, you get a predictable result. Systems support progress towards your goals, but they keep your focus on the here and now. They are daily habits that build momentum towards a long-term result. 

Who Do You Want to Become? 

Look at your heroes. Reflect on the people in your life who impress you. What skills and character traits do they possess that you would like to mimic? Rather than focusing on possessions or experiences you would like to enjoy, start embodying the qualities that a person in your dream reality exhibits. 

Think about your goals and the type of person who accomplishes them. What are they like? What are their daily habits? What do you need to change to become more like those people? 

Focus your daily actions on reinventing yourself to reflect those changes, and you will move forward toward your future-self.