Why Everyone Should Plan Their Life in Stages?
Your Life In Stages Part 1
When you hear the word decade what does it mean to you?
Booma, before we continue, know that some of what I’m sharing may seem repetitive. The reason being is that we need to walk through each decade from a different perspective. In this iteration, I need to say some things that most people will not say and most people would rather not think about. Keep in mind that the word “most” is a synonym for the words “normal, average, and common.” And we are none of these words. Therefore we must talk and think about the things an ordinary person is unwilling to discuss.
If you truly want to have a life of significance and one that makes a difference, you’ll need to perform this uncommon practice of seeing your life in one big picture. What do I mean by that, you will need to look at life with the end-in-mind. It was Tyler Perry who gave me insight into this principle along with Michael Hyatt. When Tyler writes a play or movie, he starts at the end, how he wants the ending to be and works his way back to the beginning’s. Michael on the other hand taught me to always envision how one would like the ideal outcome to be and begin working to achieve that.
To help me with this, I’ve come up with a way to put this into perspective. Let me give you a couple ways in which you must view your time to get out of life what you desire. Remember your life is a business and for this business, called “your life,” to be successful you’ll have to do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.
Live life in reverse.
There’s a movie called “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.” In this film, Benjamin is a guy who ages backwards. Can you imagine starting your life old and aging in reverse? He was born an old man and died a baby. He started his life knowing how much time he had to live and as the years went by he’d get younger and younger. After realizing what was happening, experiencing life for all it was worth, and as the end drew nearer, he began to understand he had to make some serious choices. He needed a plan for what happens when he is no longer able to care for himself. What plans are you making that will prepare for the time you have ahead of you? I’m not just speaking of planning for retirement or senior care, but for the next stage of your life, the next decade that’s coming your way. Do you even know what the next stage is? Let me draw out a picture for you. I like the idea this movie offers, we should live our life in reverse. Plan for how you’d like to see the end of your life and begin to live it with the end in mind. To do this will require some planning.
Think of the decades and their purpose.
Let’s say you decide you wish to climb Mount Everest, it’s probably not a good idea to plan for that in decade-10. Can you think of a few good reasons why a person should not wait until age 90+ to try and climb Mount Everest. I can think of a few. There’s no guarantee that one will live to see 90. Even if you’re in good health at age 90+, the strength needed to make such a climb is probably something you won’t have. To do this at that age, you’ll need a guide who will be willing to risk their life to go with you at a pace that’s probably not adequate to make such a climb. The point of thinking this way is to set the actions and goals of one’s life into the appropriate place that will yield the best odds for your success.
I know it’s unusual to think of sections of one’s life with a purpose. However, it’s extremely important for one to figure out the when to the what. Let’s pretend that life guarantees you this 100 years. If you break this down into decades, that will give you 10 decades. That’s only 10 distinct categories of time that must be accounted for. In order to be significant and intentional, you have to be aware of the decade you’re in and what comes next. In the sections ahead, we will quickly discuss each, but keep in mind that these are all generalizations. They are mentioned to make a point in directing you to think about how to apply your ambitions to your own decade calendar. The point is to think about where you are in the timeline and put a plan together for that stage of life. Your life can and will be different after reading this content.
Question: Can you think of anything you regret you failed to accomplish in the previous decade?