Designing a Life – Planning a Life’s Path

Most people will spend more time planning a two-week vacation than they will planning their life. Of course no one would even dream of building a house without having a plan or even go on a trip without a specific plan however when it comes to designing a life, in many cases, wisdom is thrown out the door and life’s journey is undertaken with the, “happy go lucky” attitude. No wonder there is so many failures.

Planning a life is an ongoing process that has to evolve as it adapts to fluctuating circumstances. It would be impossible to sit down and create a realistic and effective entire life’s plan. There are too many unknown and imponderables. Life’s plans are done the way that the design for a cruise ship would be created. The outer shell is conceived then it is filled with the necessary amenities.

That “outer shell” has to do with generalities about the overall project. Those generalities include the answers to two fundamental questions. The first is, what makes me feel good and the next question is how can I best and most consistently achieve that feeling.

Whether we are aware of it or not, everything that we do in life is done in an effort to have as much pleasure and as little pain as possible. So, we really need to know what will bring as much pleasure as possible. Usually it has to do with personal values or with what gives us a sense of significance.

For some, security might be the primal value and what would provide the best overall sense of serenity and contentment. Others may need adventure to get the same feeling. In other cases, a sense of significance is what would provide the deepest satisfaction.

We are all different in the way that the sense of feeling good is achieved but we are united in our quest to attain that feeling. So, in designing our life’s plan, we must start with getting clear on what makes us feel good and how it can be achieved.

The person who gets satisfaction out of personal security might decide to become an accountant while the one who needs adventure to feel good might become an entrepreneur and the one who craves significance might go for public service. What’s important is to find a career choice through which our need for self-expression and self-satisfaction are met.

Once we have found the vehicle or career that can best provide the elements that are essential to our overall joie-de-vivre, the life’s plan is pursued by going to the specifics that will furnish that vehicle. Just like in our cruise ship analogy, once the containing shell is designed, it has to be furnished with the compartments necessary to satisfy specific needs.

As a ship would need resting areas, places for entertainment and eating facilities, our life’s plan will need, among others, some place for self-growth, leisure time and means of self-expression. Each of these elements will need its own sub-life’s plan.

Designing a life is a perpetually ongoing process that has to be adapted to changing and evolving personal needs, tastes and conditions. It is something that has to be constantly reviewed and revised. For that reason, a Personal Planner should be used. With the Planner it is easy to setup a specific place for each different topic which will allow major changes without upsetting the overall plan.

The hardest part about designing a life’s plan is to get started. The scope is so large and the implications so daunting as to be intimidating. That’s not a good reason to ignore the exercise. It has to be done and it must be done. Once started, as we translate our thoughts into words, clarity starts to appear. The first few rough drafts may need to be discarded and started over again but very soon a plan that fits like a kid glove will appear. The hardest part is done and over with. All that is now needed is occasional updates, additions or adjustments.