Ask Dr. Ding

Ok.  Good.  You’ve followed the steps outlined in “Drafting a Life Plan” and didn’t notice that Dr. Ding forgot to post yesterday.

Excellent.

So, by now you’ve hot-penned your list of important stuff you want to do in the next few years, and you’ve gotten The Tingle, not to be confused with The Tingler, a cult B-movie classic of the 1950s.  Oh my heavens, no.

Maybe The Tingle didn’t make your chakras spin backwards or blow your skivvies off, but it probably gave you some sort of clue within your physical self to Hey! Look Here! or somesuch.

There’s more.  Here’s how to create your Life Plan Plan.
1.  Write down the 1 or 2 items in your list that really made you pay attention.

2.  Remember — they might not be earth-shattering.  They might even make you feel a little wistful, or silly, or nervous.

3.  Ignore your feelings of wistfulness, silliness, or nervousness.

4.  Not all shrinks care about how you feel all the damn time, and I’m one of them, and this is one of those times.

5.  On a sheet of paper, write down all the steps you need to take to get your goal item accomplished.

6.  Take one step every day until you’ve executed your plan.

So, let’s say my personal “Hey, chowderhead!  Pay attention!” item was Teach Yoga.  I may feel this is ridiculous or unattainable, or that I will be embarrassed by showing my buttcrack by accident in those tight little yoga pants, but it doesn’t matter.  This is what makes me feel all squishy inside, which is what’s important.  When it comes to your life plan(s), pay attention to your heart first.

So, what are the steps I would need to take in order to teach yoga and get to run around wearing cute stretchy outfits with lotus blossoms on them, intoning the cosmic Aum to the Universe?

• learn yoga
• take yoga classes
• practice yoga every day
• read books on the history of yoga
• attend a yoga teacher’s class
• find out where a yoga teacher’s class is held in my area
• find a yoga studio that teaches yoga
• get some yoga pants that won’t show my asscrack
• talk to someone who teaches yoga
• visit yoga websites
• buy or rent some yoga DVDs so when I travel I can still practice correctly

This seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?  But here’s the kicker: breaking down my list into something I can do every day.  Am I going to visit yoga websites and attend classes each and every day?  No, I travel too much to do this.  But, I can practice yoga and read books and watch DVDs every day, right?  So, although it might take me every bit of 2 years, or possibly more, I can still achieve my goal as long as I do something related to my desired outcome every single day, and as long as I keep my outcome firmly visualized.

More on visualization later.

You can keep hot-penning your lists, and break them down into life areas, e.g. relationships, creativity, travel, hobbies, health.  Plan planning is the fun part, lets you see how your dreams can come to life.  We’ll talk later about quieting self-critical tendencies that interfere with planning and living your plans.

Kisses!

Dr. Ding