WHO WILL YOU BE WHEN YOU GROW-UP?

Some weeks, I wrote about the myriad of "small" choices we
make every day. I wrote that, "Our lives are almost
entirely determined by the choices we make." We decide how
to spend our days. We choose our friends, our hobbies, our
passions. We choose the books we read, the movies we watch,
the skills we develop…and we choose to turn away from
thousands of opportunities that come our way.
Those choices, over time, determine our destiny.
So, let's focus on "first things first." And here's a basic
choice: Who do you want to become?
What sort of person do you want to be a few years from now?
Will you intentionally choose to be more patient? Will you
accumulate more wealth? Will you be married, divorced, or
single? Will you change jobs or careers? Where will you be
living? Or, thinking on a grand scale, what language will
you be speaking every day?
All of these things are, basically, up to you.
Most of the coaching I do focuses around business or
income, with secondary focus on quality of life. Sometimes
we focus on relationships, preparing for retirement or
other things, but mostly coaching tends to focus on the
things we do, the core activities that fill our lives.
Today, I want to think a bit bigger and, perhaps, more
philosophically. Who are you becoming?
For most of us, our lives can be described with a handful
of adjectives. These common descriptors include things like
our living arrangements, our primary work, our age and
perhaps a few notable things about our interests or
abilities. Everyday, we describe someone as a "Nice guy, a
history teacher with two teenagers, who lives over on Grant
Street." Or, we describe someone as "owning that Pizza shop
on the corner" or "She's an eye doctor."
What's important is that these descriptors change over
time. Sometimes they evolve as we age and our life
situation changes. But, importantly, they can be changed
on-purpose, based on our choices about who we want to
become.
We can become known as the "Little League coach" or "the
spark plug who got that new playground built." We can
become leaders in our community, or we can live on a remote
ranch. We can live in Rio or Tokyo or Chicago. We can be
known as advocates for children, or as an author who writes
romance novels. The choices, over time, our entirely up to
us.
Little kids are often asked, "What do you want to be when
you grow up?" At a young age, their answers are often
predictable. They want to be teachers, fire fighters or
whatever.
But the question remains valid for every one of us. What do
you want to be, who do you want to become, in the next few
years?
Decide who you will become, and lots of other goals and
priorities get clear very quickly. If you want to change
careers, your goals (and your time, energy, even your
finances) may revolve around education or volunteering in
your new career. If you want to own your own business, then
your time, energy, and interests will reflect that--perhaps
you'll join the Chamber of Commerce or some other group. If
you decide that in five years you'll be a new parent, or be
newly single (or married, or retired, whatever), certain
choices become fairly obvious.
Life is not a stagnant, once-for-all proposition. It's a
moving target! You are a very different person today than
you were a few years ago. You know more, you've made new
friends and lost some old ones. A thousand things have
changed in your life just this past year!
Use this to your advantage. Five years from now you will be
a very different person. Consciously, intentionally choose
at least the basic things that you really want to change.
Get clear about who you will become, then let your actions
and daily routines reflect the direction you intend to go.
I think you'll like the result!