I don’t know anyone who doesn’t stop every now and then and ask themselves: What am I doing with my life?

Some people experience this more frequently than others.

If we read the news, which often paints a pretty bleak picture of humanity, we may find ourselves at the mercy of chaos. The trick is to not be taken down by all of the suffering—we can do this if we find our inner navigation and purpose.

In order to go after our dreams, we need to see where we currently are not acting in a harmonious way with who we want to become and how we want to live.

Luckily, I have a really simple exercise that anyone can do (right now, even) to clearly see who you are and what you want. A little bit of self-knowledge can go a long way—it can help us see where our priorities are so that we can align with them throughout the day.

How to show you who you are and what you want:


1. Take a piece of paper and divide it up into two columns.
2. In the column on the left, write out a list of everything you do in a given day.
3. Start from when you wake up and write down everything that you do, think or experience until you go to sleep.
4. In the column on the right write out a list of your goals, desires and the amazing things that you want in your life.

Then take a step back and ask (the very important question):

Are the actions I’m taking on a daily basis in harmony with and leading to what I want?

Go through your list and see if there are any contradictions. For example, you want to:

>> Be more positive, but you spend hours a day around negative people
>> Be in better shape or lose weight, but you eat crap and never exercise
>> Learn XYZ, but when you add it all up you find that you are spending 10 hrs on Facebook

If your daily actions are not lining up with your dreams, desires and goals then it is time to examine what you are doing with your time.

The column that you wrote on the left tells you who you are, as it is revealing the actions you are taking on a regular basis which are creating your life. This is the person (and personal characteristics) that you are cultivating.

The right column shows you what you want.

The two columns, together, in this simple exercise gives you an objective view of who you currently are and what you want. When you can look at your actions in an honest way it becomes clear whether or not your current actions will lead to the goals you have set.

So, then you change up your daily habits.

Instead of eating 10 donuts you go for a run (or you eat one donut and go for a run because balance is always the most sustainable for lasting change).

When we go after our dreams and desires with purpose and clarity we are an inspiration to those around us. Why? Because many people don’t do what they need to do to make their dreams real. Many people think that they are helpless in their lives to create the kind of reality and experiences that most speak to their soul or they think someone is going to do it for them.

We have the power to create our lives however we want them.

We simply look at what we are doing on a daily basis and ask ourselves, is this getting us to where we want to go? If not, we can re-evaluate and change directions. We can change directions millions of times in our life until we finally get it right and align with our soul.

Relephant bonus:

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Relephant reads:

Make a Life List. It’s not a Vision Board. Here’s a photo of Mine.

5 Ways to Stop Being a Self-Improvement Project. ~ Ruth Lera

How To Find Yourself, When You’ve Lost Yourself.

6 Keys to Living A Life of Purpose.

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Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Infographic: A life on your terms