What do you want now? What have you always dreamed of doing but always put off? “Later” sometimes means “never.” But right today we can remind ourselves of what we want to do, see, hear, feel. And make your wishes come true. A simple and effective exercise will help you with this.
“Watch the Northern Lights, spend a night on a beach under the stars, join a volunteer organization, take a year off…” Writing a list of all the things you want to do in life is a classic self-development exercise. Compiling it, you can remember your dreams and desires, which were forgotten over the years of a monotonous life.
Such introspection helps to direct your energy towards achieving your main goals. Clinical psychologist Cecile Kapfer has developed what she calls “intentional healing.” She suggests asking yourself the question: Where am I in my life right now? The goal is to enter into a dialogue with ourselves, to find out what our needs and desires are, what stops us, what motivates us.
“Armed with intentions, we follow the path of self-realization and self-development and thus approach finding ourselves,” the specialist explains.
Think today, so as not to regret anything tomorrow
Australian nurse Bronnie Ware has listened carefully to her patients’ dying thoughts for years. They served as the basis for the book 5 Things a Dying Man Regrets.
This is what these people say: “I would like to have the courage to live life the way I want it, and not the way others expected”; “I regret that I spent so much time on work”; “I would like to be more bold in expressing my feelings”; “I regret that I did not keep in touch with my friends”; “I wish I had allowed myself to be happier.”
To avoid such regrets, it makes sense for us to think about our deepest needs now, to clarify our strengths and weaknesses in order to lead a life full of meaning and pleasure.
We offer you an exercise for which you only need a pencil, a little time and concentration. Download the exercise in pdf format.
The list that we invite you to make has three positive effects: you will be able to take responsibility for achieving your goals, gradually move towards achieving them, and you will distinguish between dreams of big changes and small steps that can make our lives better. Good luck!