3 Tips to Assessing your Current State of Life
It’s your girl Lisa Nichols here. I know that when you’re a gladiator, change agent, unicorn or mover and shaker, people are often coming to you looking for help and support. We tend to get so caught up in being busy with other people’s stuff that we forget to take the time to stop and say, “Hold on. What about me?”
…How does my current reality compare to my desired experience?
…Am I moving in the right direction?
…Am I doing the right things to move toward my dreams and where I want to be 10 years from now?
That’s why for this week’s blog, I want to share my top 3 tips for assessing your current state of life, so you can really prioritize YOU and take inventory of your state of mind and state of reality.
#1 – Define what makes you happy
Define in your own terms and in your own language what makes you happy. Even if you have done this exercise on my campus before, it requires updating so do it again because it changes over time. So often we’re chasing someone else’s version of happiness. We’re chasing what the media or society or the masses say should make us happy. Well, I want you to define it for you. What makes you happy? What type of relationship? What type of friendships? What type of family situations or encounters? What kind of romantic experiences? What types of physical experiences? Define happiness for you.
#2 – Make a Five-Year Plan
Make a five-year plan. This concept used to make me so nervous, but it can be a loose idea of where you want to be in five years. Maybe you want to own a home. Maybe you want to move to another city. Maybe you want to be in a romantic relationship or have X amount of dollars in your savings account.
Don’t worry about how it makes you feel or how nervous it makes you get. Oftentimes we’re afraid to make a five-year plan because our current situation feels unstable, or we are literally living month to month. It’s ok. Just start writing as soon as you finish this video. Write down some things and then ask yourself if you are on that path to make them happen with what you are doing right now. It can be a sobering exercise and give you a few “OMG” or “H-E Double Hockey Stick” moments, right?
That’s ok because awareness is everything. When you realize that the tongue in your mouth and the tongue of your shoe are going in two different directions, then you begin to start moving into alignment. You start to get things done in a whole different way. This information is valuable because you will start to make changes and create the reality that you want.
#3 – Write Yourself a Thank You Letter
Now this exercise was radical for me. Write yourself a thank you letter that you’ll read 10 years from now. Thank yourself for the things that you’ve gone through for the next 10 years. For example:
…I want to thank you for getting your credit card paid off
…I want to thank you for saving $150,000.
…I want to thank you for starting your business
…I want to thank you for writing 2 books
…I want to thank you for allowing yourself to be loved
…I want to thank you for getting your body fit
Write the thank you letter, read it three times, and then put it in a drawer and get busy! Even if you lose it, it doesn’t matter. Something in your mindset will shift. It’s called cognitive dissonance. Look that up.
So, to sum it up: 1) Define what makes you happy; 2) Develop a five-year plan; and 3) Write a thank you letter to yourself to read 10 years from now.
Please let me know which tip really hit home for you. I LOVE reading your comments so please share with me your #BOL (breakthrough out loud), your #AHA moment or your #YANA (you are not alone, Lisa) moment.
Remember, this is your home. We are your tribe. And every time that I say I love you and I believe in you, it’s because I truly do and years ago, I really wanted someone to tell me that they BELIEVED in me…they SAW me…and that I MATTERED.
Your Sister in Prosperity and Possibility,
I can answer all of the questions but ther is one thing that over shadows them. I am 49 years old and when I think about a future all I see is darkness. I can only think of my end at 50. I feel like a 1000 piece puzzle spilled out on the floor. Just can’t get it together.
Angela darlin, lots of us have felt that way. Find ways to look at the bright side.
1. You have all the pieces
2. You have a year still to get it done
3. You have people like me amd Lisa who even though you have not met us personally we believe in you. We beleive everyone has the potential in them to rise above adversity to realize their greatest ideal.
Chin up Queen. One piece at time.
That was an amazing response! I agree with you
I’m 50 now and had a life changing moment a few days before my 49th birthday. I lost my encourager, cheerleader and best friend…..my mother. I felt like I crumpled into thousands of pieces too. But I am naturally a “go getter” and knew I could not let myself or my mother down! The prayers and encouragement of strangers really helped me. I want to be that person for others.
You/we can do it and life will be unimaginable and better we’d hoped for!
Stay blessed ladies!
Hey Angela! Your post rocked me. Really. I think I felt exactly like that about 8 months ago. All I could see was darkness. I will be 60 yrs old in August and at that point I was just waiting to check out and leave the planet and hope it would happen sooner rather than later. But that darkness changed me. I had lived there every sinigle day, almost every sinigle minute for the entire 59 years of my life. But even though I couldn’t see it and thought I had given up hope I always kind of knew there was a different life my soul told me was out there. A life where I didn’t spend my life in self-loathing, people pleasing, trying to be enough and make up for all of my imagined guilts. I started slowly, but I started to meditate – only 10 mins. a day. Then a joined a Year of Miracles grou in January. And In just a short time I’m learning how to love myself. Like seriously love myself, exactly as I am and exactly as I’m becoming. My passion is to make these last years of my life (10, 20, 30, who knows) mean something. I am becoming my best self, a change maker, someone who can show people who even at my age it’s possible!!! If that can happen for me, that can freaking happen for anybody. I hope you can feel how much I believe in you, and the previous poste, r as well as Lisa, believe in us both! Take the smallest step, just the smallest. I am uncomfortable almost every day now, in a good way. Growth isn’t comfortable. But you have everything you need right inside you. What I can say is that what Lisa says is real – beyond real, it’s truth – whether we can see it in that moment or not. Don’t give up, because that change could begin 5 minutes from now and you wouldn’t want to miss it!
I love your sharing Karen and cannot agree with you more! Congratulations on making that giant leap to connect back to your BEST SELF! You are unstoppable now! Very inspirational!
I myself left a 25-year IT career at age 55 to pursue my dream of serving on a non-profit, and although my bank account has been reduced significantly, my happiness soared and I lived my best 3 years – I am approaching my 60 soon but I never felt so much alive. It is so important to align our work with our soul’s purpose. When you do, life is totally a miracle!
Dear Angela, I am sending you a lot of Light and Love. I know you have that inner strength to make it. Just take each piece of the puzzle one piece at a time and the picture will appear. Here I am at age 72 having lost my husband/soul-mate/friend/confidante 15 years ago. The fond memories, my faith in God, support from family and my church community kept me. I retired from the corporate world last October and I am still doing work for clients at home.
Go ahead and answer the questions. We are cheering you along!
Do the same for me. I asked myself ” Where will I be 10 years from now? ” and I smile as I see an 82 year old lady full of life and zeal.
Blessings!
Hi Angela,
Just take one step at time. Someone once told me that you take baby steps to get to where you want to go. Life is journey and not a sprint or marathon.
YOU WILL SEE 50!
You have a community of people here to see you through and encourage along the way.
I stand in agreement with Sharlene, Myra, Karen, and Eileen.
Be blessed my sistah!
Hi Angela;
I am launching an online class called living in grace, if you are interested, I can gift you this course, just email me at anguyen1@pdq.net – You are a miracle by yourself Angela, never forget the fact that you beat a chance of 1 out of 400 trillion to exist in this world, and your body, you mind and your soul are magnificent. If you are still healthy, have a roof above your head and have food to eat, you are so much more blessed than millions of others in the world. Focus on counting your own blessings, you will see how rich you are and your life absolutely does not end at 50… may I suggest your life starts at 50? when you start deciding to take back your life and being on the driver seat to run the rest of your life in your term? You have what it takes to change it around and live your best years in the next years after 50. My best wishes to you. With much love, Anhlan
Lisa!
Yes! Yes!
Everything you speak to us about resontes deeply and I always come back to your wisdom in times I didn’t know I need it! I will be doing all three tips and then some! My favorite analogy is when you spoke about the tongue in your shoe and in your mouth like wow! Thank you Lisa
While I really don’t buy into the motivational thing for myself I you made great points and at times where talking directly to me. #1 really gave me something to think about because I only know what makes unhappy.
Sincerely
Lovell Oates
Love the idea of writing a thank you letter that I’ll read in 10 yrs! Totally going to do that. #AHA
Define your makes me happy is a BOL for me. I always think about things I want to do but I never think about what makes me happy
GREAT WORDS OF INSPIRATION
Lisa, when talked about understanding what makes me happy in relationships and family, I said, “Wow!” I have some family who give off negative energy. I Love them, but it is important for me to limit time with them. Also, I love the idea of someone understanding that people have a “Positive Attitude” that is contagious! That’s me! My 5 year plan includes coming to your campus! See you soon! Keep Doing You…It’s Helping Me!
Thank you, Lisa. Blessings to you in abundance.
Thanks Lisa ! You are phenomenal and your message was clear! I have to say , that’s where I am now, on my path, by way of Gods instruction… Loved the 10 year letter !
Hello, I am moving the right way and keep hoping for the best to come thanks to people like you!
I am very honored that you took the time to write to me! You made my day!
Let us keep our natural state no matter what happens!
Cheers!
A thank you letter to me…AHA!
Thanks!
Love the idea of writing a thank you letter that I’ll read in 10 yrs! Totally going to do that. #AHA
https://thanhcongcraft.com/
Lisa thank you for this video!
Thank you for leading me to stay focus on my goals.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to make my 10 years goals.
I really appreciate the idea of the thank you letter.
Tous are a true gift for humanity.
Love you so much!
Sending love to your team
Hi Lisa thanks for the video,
it made me review my plans, check-in on where I am now,
it was nice to think about what makes me happy. I have been working on my destiny since 2011,
complimentary massage therapy has been prohibited: so I am developing other strategies.
from West London UK
Thank you for sharing these 3 tips with us, Lisa! I really loved the idea of tip # 3, writing a thank you letter to ourselves. So often, we go through life only highlighting the big accomplishments and slide past the little things. But, as we all know, it is the little things that truly matter. I loved what you said about getting our tongue in our mouth and the tongue in our shoe aligned so we begin to go in the same direction in tip # 2. In regards to tip # 1, I feel that by defining what makes us happy implies that happiness is contingent upon external or internal circumstances when in fact, happiness is our innate nature. I believe we are already happy beings and we choose to leave happiness when things are not going our way, etc. Thoughts?
I was amazed on what happened to me when you said: DEFINE IN YOUR OWN TERMS: What makes me happy. I stopped the recording and I started writing down what makes me happy on three sheets of writing paper front and back in about 5 minutes before I heard the 2nd tip. How you said it triggered something. Now I heard it before said in a different way. This time it stuck. Thank you Lisa.
Hi Angela,
Like you, I could never see a future for myself. However, I am about to turn 64 in two weeks time. I can’t believe it! I made a decision several months ago to make the last part of my life, however long that will be, the best part of my life. Like Karen Fierro above I stumbled onto the Year of Miracles group and really feel I was meant to be part of it. Lisa Nichols is an additional bonus to the challenging times ahead in making a decision and taking action to proactively live the life I want to live for whatever time I have left on this planet. And yes, we all matter. Lisa, I will make time today to follow your instructions implicitly. Love and light to all of you from Australia.
First, I give thanks for being given the opportunity by Ms. Lisa Nichols to respond to her message. I will be 65 in June so I have a lot to give thanks for. Although I am now understanding life and myself much better now I am am still grateful. Lisa I truly look forward to the next ten years because I am a late bloomer. My sister I love you too. God Bless!!!
I am looking forward to defining What makes me happy, even though i am incessantly self aware of what the happyness factors actually are. And i am sure i will become more focussed on a few less conscious factors that make me happy
I am looking forward to defining and writing down What makes me happy, even though i am incessantly self aware of what the happyness factors actually are.
First of all, I want to thank God that I cross your path Lisa and I want to thank you for saying YES when you suppose to say NO, your YES has transformed so many lives including me. Please keep saying YES because we too are sayin YES with you.
This episode really spoke to me, the #AHA is the thanks letter to myself and my #BOL is that five years plan.
In all I want to testify that after the last NEXTLEVEL submit, my life total changed and I saw a lot of speedy up in my writing of my book, boldly teaching the word of God even when my voice shakes and persistence in our 21days get fit.
Thank you so much Lisa,
You are the best,
Heaven is your portion
Hi Lisa thank you so much for the tips I will attend to it tonight.
Hi Lisa,
I am grateful for all the beautiful inspirational and inclusive work you do to help many cross the roads before them.
I want to be really happy and free in five years time. I am trusting that then, l will have all my three children with me, l will be able to think of late my mom and not cry but smile.
I want to be financially independent again then and be able to support those who need help as l have always done but can’t at this moment.
Love you back Lisa and everyone here. ❤
Dearest Lisa, thank you for always being such a beautiful light of sunshine. I listened religiously all of your youtube clips and you are truly a mastered communication expert and above all, I love your heart. I am sorry for not having enough time to join the most recent event, but I follow you frequently. Thank you for the inspiration you bring with being YOU! Thank you for the great message. I really like the idea of sending a thank you letter to yourself 10 years from now! Great insight. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
With much love and gratitude,
Anhlan
(I am your student for Ignite your speaking group, but did not have the chance to do Stand and Deliver due to Covid-19, hopefully I will have that chance some day).
Thanks you are so very encouraging. The tip that hit home for me was not to chase someone else version of happiness.
I love the idea of the 5 year plan. I try to inspire women over fifty to live a more intentional life but I found that many are so focused on the past and present that they don’t think about all the possibilities of what great things the future can bring. Looking out 5 years can help bring the focus to future opportunities and the potential for positive change. Love your inspiration Lisa!