Step 1. Know your definition of living life on your terms! What would it look like? Who do you know that is living a life that you desire. Instead of getting jealous of them, see if they’ll be your mentor or ask them how they did it. The answer may surprise you.
Step 2. Elicit your ideal values and work towards living them. Generally key indicators of your values are; where would you like to spend most of your time?, What do you spend most of your money on? What is your fulfillment strategy?
Step 3. What are your strengths and what are you currently doing to fulfill them. I believe that life needs to be lived to the fullest, too many people do not live ,life, to their highest potential.
Step 4. Create a vision for your life, what would you like your life to look like in 3, 5, 10 years time.
Various studies have shown that people who have a sense of control, a sense of progression and are living for something greater than themselves are, happy, with their life.
Step 5. Have at least one major goal or intention that challenges you to grow and be better than you were last year. That could mean learning a new skill-set and although there is the ten thousand hour rule, it only takes 40 hours to gain basic understanding of something. Last year I learn basic Indonesian and I studied for around 40 hours. It is actually better when in gaining a habit to lower the bar so you can achieve your goal and therefore creating a new habit and expanding from a place of achievement.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and getting there will force you to grow.
Step 6. Needs analysis, are your needs being met? Once your basic needs have been met, what is it that you truly need to be happy. This comes back to fulfilling and living your core strengths and values. These two combine comprise your needs. And this is more about the how to, the action steps needed to fulfill your needs. If self expression is a value of yours, but your not in theatre or in a speaking group than maybe your need to express is too big to have it fulfilled by your partner or your current work situation and you need to do an activity that will enable you to fulfill that need. Another example would be traveling, if traveling to new places meets many of needs than you should plan to do it more often.
Step7. Living deliberately
I know I’m at my best when I’m working toward expanding past my current limitation of what I hold be true for myself. If you are not doing what you love or working toward something worth while than your wasting your time. Living life on your terms is living from a paradigm that you have created, not living a paradigm that you feel stuck in.
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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2037684505/transitioning-from-your-job-into-your-passion