How will the choices you make today affect you tomorrow?

Did you write down your dream?  Make your plan?  How are the choices you make today affecting you in obtaining your dream life?  Which areas of your life need to be changed so that your dreams can come true?  These are not small questions.  Sometimes I find that I need quiet time to ponder the answers to these questions and quiet time is not always easy to find.  Every day we have to make choices regarding our time, money, family, friends, etc.  Each choice we make whether large or small affects many aspects of our life.  Choosing not to plan is planning for failure.  Try to find 5-10 minutes each evening to think about what you will be doing tomorrow and where you will be.  Then plan your day accordingly.  Do you stop to get coffee (or soda) in the morning because you don’t have time or energy to make it at home?  Even if you only spend $1 a day (that doesn’t sound like a lot does it?) that’s about $25 a month and $300 a year or $1500 over your 5 year plan.  What could you do with an extra $1500?  Do you buy lunch out because you don’t have time to make a lunch?  A very modest amount for lunch would be $4 a day (and I bet you spend more). That would be $20 a week, which is at least $80 a month, $960 a year, and $4800 over 5 years. Just coffee or soda and lunches over your five year goal period could have saved you over $6,000. See how the little choices we make daily and don’t really give any thought to could make an impact on our achieving our goals?

Maybe you don’t like spending an entire weekend day cleaning or maybe your house doesn’t get cleaned because you’re too busy…what if you set aside 15 minutes every day before bed and played a game with your family?  What I don’t have time to clean, how can I have time to play a game every day? Give me a second…this is how the game works- set the timer on the stove, everyone goes around the house and picks up anything that is out of place and puts it away.  The person that picks up the most and gets it put away correctly WINS!! If you want you can reward them at the end of the week with spending some quality time with you; reading a story, watching a show, playing a game, or whatever is enjoyable in your family.  Everyone really wins because the house is picked up all week and makes it much easier to clean on the weekend.  Maybe more needs to be cleaned to get started…if that’s the case take one drawer a day in the kitchen (or every other day) and clean out that one drawer or cupboard or area; whatever is manageable. The idea is to break it down into manageable pieces so it isn’t so overwhelming.  Over time you save a lot of time and usually money because you can find things and don’t have to buy new! In addition, you have a clean house and you feel better.    

Just making these two changes could add money to your pocketbook and give you a little extra time which could be what you need to plan your time more wisely and make some of the changes you want to make to help you in planning to make your dreams come true.

A friend of mine from church and her husband authored a book: Declutter Now!: Uncovering the Hidden Joy and Freedom in Your Life by Sherry and Lindon Gareis.

It is a great tool for looking at the areas of your life that might need work.  Slowing down, saying no, and spending quiet time with yourself are excellent ways to figure out what you want from life and be able to plan so you can make your dreams come true.  What you do today and the choices you make are the most important steps in making your dreams come true.

You must recognize, embrace, and be honest about what is real for you today and allow that understanding to inform the choices you make. Only then will you be able to build the future of your dreams.
Suze Orman

Nena