Yachting's Golden Handcuffs - Part 2

In my first article I got you to imagine your life backwards, as your future old-aged self rocking in your chair and looking back over all the wonderful years you’ve lived. The images, people and events that stuck out for you contain the seeds of the life you really want to live.

Now that you’re starting to form an understanding of what your ideal life could be, it’s time to drill down to the finer details. With your rocking chair images still in mind, let’s look at what you’ve done so far and see how your existing experience can help inform the future you want to create.

Let’s start right at the beginning. When you were a kid, what did you love doing so much that you could do it all day long without getting bored? What used to fascinate you, enchant you, and set you off into daydreams of a wonderful life? My bet is you’ll find elements of these pastimes in those scenes you imagined, and if you do, note those down.

Now let’s look at your work experience. Of all the jobs you’ve done so far, which were the best, and why? Which aspects of these did you really enjoy? And what about the opposite – which were the worst and why? What did you hate doing and what would you absolutely never touch with a barge pole again? By now you should be starting to get a really clear picture of the type of work you really like as well as what you definitely don’t want to be doing.

For many of you the picture of your ideal life will be coming into sharper focus, but if you still don’t have a definite answer about what your true calling is yet, don’t worry – it will come. Keep in mind everything you’ve noticed and realised so far, and we’ll see what clues we can gain from your ideal environment.

In order to grow, a seed needs to be planted in the right place. Plant one in the wrong environment at the wrong time and it will lie dormant forever. This is just as true of people – so now what we want to do is find out where you should plant yourself for maximum growth!

What kind of situations, experiences or people have made you feel most competent and happy? Do you like working with others or do you find you get more energy from being alone? What types of people do you like working with?

Describe their personalities and what sorts of things are important to them. Your answers will reveal which values are most important to you when it comes to associating with other people, and knowing this helps you gravitate towards the people who feed your growth rather than stunt it.

Now think about your family and friends. Who do you need to be near to, and why? Notice what you notice here – what’s the difference? Are you allowing what you think you have to do to stop you from doing what you really want to do? What does being around both sets of people give you and how does this contribute to your ideal life? In terms of locations and environments, what could bring everything you want together in the best possible way?

So we’ve looked at where you’ve come from and where you want to go – as well as where you now think you ought to be, in terms of surroundings, scenarios and people that will fulfil your needs and deepest desires. In my next article in this series we will look at what you need to take with you on the journey and how to create a roadmap that will take you there.

See thecrewcoach.com for more information.

*Image credits: Pixabay