PERSONAL SPECIAL .......................DESIGN YOUR LIFE

DESIGN YOUR LIFE

If you want a new blueprint for your life, the first month is perfect. Let 2015 be about taking action to reach your life goals, and yes, there's a method to it...

The cynic in you may be already wearing a smirk. Can you really design your life?
Is it that easy to create a new blueprint for a life that you are so used to? We aren't asking you to reach for the moon and stars. Just start by believing that the obstacles in the path to your life goals can be overcome. Designing life is about acquiring a certain skill set that motivates you towards your life goals. As the late Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc., had famously said, “`Design' is a funny word.Some people think design means how it looks.But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works.“ Essentially, it means there's a lot that you can design about your life. Whether you are in your 20s, 40s, 60s or 80s ­ you can empower yourself to make life changes.

PUPILS OF DESIGN

In fact, these days, there's an entire industry to help you design your life. You could hire a life coach, join a `design your life' bootcamp or enroll in MIT or Stanford's `Designing Your Life' course for “bold immediate action“. Dave Evans and Bill Burnett, executive directors of Stanford University's programme for undergraduates titled `Designing Your Life' teach that passion isn't an inherent trait; it can be developed. They say that instead of thinking of doing something, just do it. They believe that instead of thinking you'll start something when you get to so-and-so point, you can start right now. And most importantly, no problem can be solved if you think there isn't any problem. Be truthful, accept and challenge your fears head on. It is in this crucial area that most people falter.

YOUR TIME STARTS NOW

Professor David Mindell asks his MIT students to pick an area of life they have difficulty in designing, and start working on it. “If your desire is to run, go running every week at least three times. Once you've mastered one challenge, set another,“ he says. Sarod player Amaan Ali Khan says, “The formula is simple: Learn to take up challenges, develop personal integrity by keeping the promise and don't fall into the excuses trap. That can be fatal.“

Corporate guru Azim Jamal believes every great design begins with the end in mind. “Your vision is derived from your life purpose. Your life design is a picture of your whole life. It's essential to apply a sense of balance in life. The big stumbling blocks to your life plan can be inconsistency, lack of self-discipline and bad habits,“ he says.

Nic Rixon, author of Design Your Life, says the essential part is to be truthful to oneself.“Know when you are running east looking for a sunset. Don't fool yourself. Design is just choosing how you want something to look.Why can't we choose how we want our life, family, health, wealth and kids to look? Before anything ever came into existence in our manufactured world, someone had to imagine it and then go about designing and building it, isn't it?“ Olympic swimmer Rehan Poncha says, “Have one big goal in your life. I did. Now, after swimming, I want to be a professional golfer. I believe in designing my life, my way. Right now, golf is where my focus is.“ For designer Puja Nayyar, designing clothes and designing life require the same skill set. She says, “Everyone's life needs a to-do list, just like your work. Action towards those life goals will lead us closer to what we want in our life. My mantra is: Be focussed, don't be confused and you may actually get more than what you desire. A formatted life can lead to more happiness.“

DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS

So, how do you make big and small changes in your life plan? “We need to doubt our doubts, live our life with trust and faith,“ says MetaPhysician, life coach Warren Stagg. “Don't be a victim to your self-developed belief system.Break out of it. That's how you can be the designer of your life,“ he adds.

Without your soul and heart, making a life blueprint will be just another project; to make it really work, make a diary of your progress.Says Mana, soul coach, “Life is something new each day. Allow yourself to receive. We receive when we hold expansive beliefs, such as, “I am improving every day in every way. Heart without action is a daydream. Action without heart is a nightmare.“

This is a great time of the year.Focus on yourself. Make a list of all the things that work for you. Equally, make a list of all the things that hold you down.It's never too late to be what you might have been.

What you need

 Be positive

 Be open

 Be relentless

 Be decisive

 Pace yourself 

 Be fit 

 Believe in yourself

 Listen to your gut and trust yourself

 Make your own decisions 

 Be fulfilled 

 Do listen

What you don't need

Don't blame

Don't consume too much

Don't hoard junk 

Don't stop being a kid 

--Vince Frost, author of Design Your Life

Nona Walia TOI 4JAN15