Have you done the 10 year test

The start of a new year is always a fabulous time to think about what you want.

It is also a time of reflection I find, when you notice patterns of repetition, working on the same goals again, feeling perhaps a little frustration at emotions that feel familiar, desire, apathy, anger, and overwhelm.

Bill Gates said, 

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years”

And I totally agree.

Despite generally being impatient, being a consistent action taker and wanting EVERYTHING now…I often find myself frustrated with progress, even if I am considered an overachiever by other peoples standards.

I have learned in recent years though that sometimes the passing of time has to be allowed to happen so that you can be ready for the things that you want.

At the start of a new year you often hear people saying things like,

“This is going to be MY year”

or

“This is going to be the year that I finally lose weight/grow my business/get married” insert whatever applies to you

Even if that was also an intention last year, and the year before that.

So ask yourself what needs to change? What needs to happen for you to access the things you truly desire AND are you blocking yourself from getting what you want?

I had, “Move out of London” on my wish list for more than 5 years, every year I said I wanted it, and every year I come up with reasons why it wasn’t possible.

The timing of my recent move out of London in to my dream home has been awesome, and yet there is still an element of me wondering if I could have done it sooner, and could have been working on other things the last few years without the stress of worrying about an imminent move and the upheaval that it would bring.

This move feels like 10 years in the making…and it was.

How do I know that?

Because 10 years ago I had my gorgeous daughter Rose, and my intention was never to raise her for a decade in my 2 bed apartment in East London, and so her recent birthday this weekend has given me a fabulous opportunity to reflect on that. To reflect on what needed to have happened to fast-track that move, and if we would be as happy as we are now if I had moved faster but possibly in the wrong direction a bit earlier.

So what about this 10-year test? You ready to try something new?

I want you to think about where you are now. What you have. Who you are. How you live your life. And then compare it to who you were 10 years ago, and the hopes and dreams you had for the future.

Are you living out those dreams, are you as far along as you thought you might be, or perhaps are you frustrated?

Most folks I speak to either in a business setting or otherwise are quite impressed with their progress over the course of a decade, listing off things which they have achieved, surprises that came out of left field, how they have evolved…often stating that things which didn’t work out kind of happened for the best. I guess that stuff is easier to accept on reflection rather than when you are deep in the middle of disappointment. 

And yet there always niggles about some aspect of something which hasn’t gone to plan. 

Now I want you to fast forward ten years and think about who you will be in the future….everything you want for yourself and your loved ones, and maybe even more broadly for the rest of the world, or your industry even?

All that opportunity, the scope for change, adventure, magic and unfulfilled potential.

How much of it can you quantify? How easy is it for you to reel off what you want? To lean into what that looks and feels like?

Are you inspired by that vision? Can you picture it? Does it feel exciting or a bit muh???

Do you need to think BIGGER, or scale things back?

I find this process of playing around ten year backwards and ten years forward a useful way of disassociating myself from the harder-to-pin-down details of what I need to do, to access what I want.

I start to worry less about the how, and get better clarity on the why it is important to me, and what it would look and feel like once I achieved it.

This in turn helps me to make better decisions along the way, it helps me to spot things I said I wanted, allowing me to access them sooner than perhaps I would have allowed myself if I hadn’t thought about wanting them

Give it a go…ten years back, ten years forward

Now think about your goals for this year but hold them a little loser.

Learn to trust that what is for you will find you in divine timing.

Understand the power you have to affect change, to speed things up and slow things down. 

To allow for magic, misfortune, risk and reward.

Here’s to you having a fabulous 2023, and getting closer to your ultimate dreams of success.

Love Always 

Julie

PS…I have a limited number of 121 coaching and mentoring slots available for ambitious solopreneurs in 2023, get in touch if you would like to discuss my retainer options, or masterplanning days.

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