Now that you have committed to achieving your goals and have determined if you require an accountability partner to reach them, it is time to develop your course of action. Exactly how do you plan to get from your current location to your blissful life? What course must you chart to achieve it? At first glance, this question may seem overwhelming. However, when we break it down as we will in the following pages, you will see exactly how easy this will be. This course will lead you to your promised land. Also, you will enjoy taking action because you know exactly where you’re headed to your blissful life!
Developing your course of action is an easy process. It is much like planning a vacation. Everyone enjoys planning for vacation! If you are like most individuals, you probably plan a vacation every year. This process involves choosing a destination (which you have already done), planning how you will get there (plane, car, train etc.), how long you will stay and when you will return. The best part about your current journey is the fact that it is a one-way trip! You are headed to complete satisfaction, in every “part” of your life. You can forget about a return trip. Once you are there, you won’t ever want to return to where you are now! Where you are headed is so much better!
To develop your course of action, repeat the following for each of your parts:
1. Select the part you will focus upon according to your parts ranking in Your Blissful Life: Your Discovery.
2. Review the desired outcome for the part you have selected. Now the fun begins.
3. In a moment, you will go forward in your own personal time machine: your mind! That’s right, one of your many hidden talents will allow you to travel through time in your mind to see, hear and feel yourself having already achieved your goal! Doing this very easy. You already have all the tools you need to experience it. If you like, have your accountability partner walk you through this exercise . Now get yourself into a comfortable position, such as sitting in your favorite chair or relaxing on your couch. The key is to be comfortable. Now, close your eyes and relax. Take a deep breath through your nose, hold it for a few seconds and slowly exhale through your mouth. As you exhale, feel how relaxed your mind and body are. With every breath you take, your body expels all thoughts, worries and tension you might be experiencing. Take another deep breath through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, and slowly exhale again through your mouth. Notice how loose and free your legs and arms have become. Also notice how relaxed your neck and shoulders are. Take your third deep breath, hold it in, and then exhale slowly through your mouth. Notice how relaxed your torso has become. Your heart rate has slowed considerably. You are now in a totally relaxed state. Enjoy how good it feels to be so relaxed. Your mind and body are quiet. Now, picture yourself in the future having already achieved your goal for this part. Notice how you look, what you are saying, and that special feeling you have right now.
4. Take a look back at the present, taking note of all that you have done to get where you are currently standing, having achieved your goal. What specific actions did you take? What specific thoughts did you think? How did your feelings about yourself change? What are others saying about you? Jot down your answers on a sheet of paper. Take note of every action, thought and feeling.
Now, slowly come back into the moment, into the present. Leave your totally relaxed state behind. You are now completely refreshed. Remain seated or lying down for a few moments until you are fully back into the present moment.
5. Take another sheet of paper and restate the items you noted in Step 4 above in the following manner: for each action you imagined yourself taking, restate it as an action to be taken. Review the notes about how you will think about yourself. Do you need to take any actions to begin thinking about yourself in that manner? If you noted a change in your thoughts about yourself, create an action item stating that you must start thinking about yourself in the manner you noted. What did others say to you? Do you need to create any action items from the comments they made to you or about you?
6. Determine which actions you took first in order to achieve your goal. You can rank them by numbering them in the margin. Continue down the list until all items have been given a number. This is your Action Item List.
7. Repeat this process for a maximum of three parts.
NOTE: Attempting to focus on more than three parts leads to an unfocused journey. Individuals who attempt this path find they become lost and confused. Keep your action plan simple—keep it focused.
8. Once you have your prioritized your Action Item List, review it with your accountability partner. He or she should talk with you to ensure that you are certain of the prioritization of your tasks. This is where your accountability partner’s work begins. They need to hold you accountable for completing your Action Item List so that you can achieve your goals. You must verbalize to your partner that you give them permission to hold you accountable for getting what you want. They must also commit and verbalize to you that they will hold you accountable.
9. Set up a meeting schedule with your accountability partner. This meeting will be at whatever frequency (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, etc.) that you need in order to keep you on your path. The key here is consistency. You both must commit to the schedule and hold each other to it. During these meetings you will review your progress, discuss areas in which you may be struggling or need to learn new strategies and what items from your Action Item List need to be moved into focus. I am confident that if you have successfully selected an accountability partner that is right for you, they will assist you in discovering what you need to do to eliminate any struggles, as well as discovering the new strategies you require to achieve your goals.
The above process assists you in developing an achievable action plan. As you move toward and achieve your goals, select your next part and add its action items to your action list. This ensures that you are always moving, listening and feeling the power of moving toward your goals. Using this process is so easy because you want nothing more than to achieve your goals.
The single most amazing thing about this entire process is how easy it is to execute. The more you execute it, the easier it gets. Hour by hour, day by day, week by week and month by month, your journey becomes easier and easier and ever more satisfying. I enjoyed this part of the process immensely. Perhaps it was because my accountability partner had a prior background in Time Line work and was very good at it, or perhaps it was because I knew I was laying out my course for moving toward and getting exactly what I wanted, just the way I wanted it. Whatever the reason, I had fun with it.
Another amazing thing about the process for me was how easy it was to imagine myself in the future having already achieved my goals and how clearly defined the path was I had taken to achieve it when I looked back to where I had been. I believe that the reason it was so easy for me to move into the future to see, hear and feel me already having achieved my goals is because I wanted them so deeply, so badly, so much more than anything else in the world. My subconscious mind was just waiting for me to give it permission to go there. I had to move my conscious mind aside and allow my subconscious mind to explore. Once there, I looked back to where I had been and could see exactly what I had done to get to where I wanted to be. My accountability partner noted all of these items as I noted and described them to him. This became the basis for my action plan. It was so easy. I couldn’t believe it! I had struggled with all of this for so many years and, finally, right there in front of me, there it was! An “Ah-Ha!” moment for me for sure!
Once I came down off my “Ah-Ha” cloud, my accountability partner and I developed my Action Item List. I couldn’t wait to get moving. I had waited for so long. My issue, just like so many others, is that I wanted everything to get done yesterday. What I soon realized is that everything had to be done in order. The reason is that you, just as I did, will learn something on each step of the journey. The lessons learned while completing my current action items put me into proper alignment for moving forward. This ensures that at each step you have exactly what you need in order to succeed! I could not rush the process. I quickly learned to slow down and enjoy the journey because it held many experiences and lessons that I needed to learn in order to get what I want. So, don’t rush it. Live each moment, taking away all that you can while learning all that you need. You will succeed.
How do you feel about your action plan? Are you comfortable with it? If not, repeat the process in this chapter until you are completely satisfied with it.
Write how you felt as you executed the process. What was easy for you?
Were there any parts of the process that challenged you? If so, how did it challenge you?
What did you learn about yourself going through the process?
What three parts are you focusing on and why?
Timothy A. McGinty is the published co-author of the highly regarded Wake Up... Live the Life You Love® series. This series is a collaborative effort with such inspirational leaders as Tony Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Brian Tracy, Steven E, and Lee Beard.
Mr. McGinty is also the author of “Your Blissful Life”, a book which takes the reader by the hand and walks them through the process for defining their “Blissful Life” and their action plan for achieving it.
Imagine Yourself… is an organization focused on enabling clients “breakthrough” in achieving their success. Mr. McGinty has helped many organizations and individuals discover their passion, define the life balance they seek, develop strategies for achieving that balance, and held them accountable for reaching their goals.His clients have been so successful that Mr. McGinty is known as "The Breakthrough Authority". Mr. McGinty has worked with such organizations as The Anthony Robbins Companies and Dr. Marshall Goldsmith's GK Training.
Mr. McGinty is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and coach who believes in giving back to the local community and the world. Prior to establishing Imagine Yourself, Mr. McGinty was a partner in an Information Technology firm in northeast Ohio. This organization was born out of the desire to assist small and medium-sized businesses make better use of technology in achieving their goals. It was during this time that Mr. McGinty recognized his desire to assist everyone in taking their lives and organizations to the next level. This led him on his current path of bringing the strategies and tools to those who seek to do more, get more, and experience more out of their lives.