Practical Advice for Living Forward
Do you have a clear vision of where you want to go in life, or do you need some help along the way? If you are seeking direction in your life purpose, this is the book that will help guide your path. This is the book that offers practical advice and insights into how to live your life moving forward instead of looking in the rearview mirror.
The book lays out a roadmap for living your life in the forward direction with the following sections:
- Acknowledge the drift
- Understand the mission
- Appreciate the benefits
- Design your legacy
- Determine your priorities
- Chart the course
- Dedicate one day
- Implement your plan
- Keep it alive
- Join the revolution
I found Living Forward to be a life-shifting book. After reading the book, I was able to write my own life plan document, utilizing the insights to take action in small, incremental steps to live a more intentional life. It sounds cliché, but the reality is that life is short, and it is vital to pay attention and take action.
The book is loaded with practical advice and examples of how to live your life in the direction you most want to live. Below are some key highlights.
Drift Happens
- Drift happens – especially in one’s forties, fifties, and sixties
- Happens when we are distracted and not paying attention in life
- When we feel overwhelmed
- Or when we feel deceived
- Results in resentments, regrets, and/or “if onlys”
- Building a life plan is a proactive process
- Be aware of your current location
- Decide where you want to go
- Start working on your destination
Life Plan and Mission
- A Life Plan is a written document about five to fifteen pages in length
- Describes how you want to be remembered
- States your personal priorities
- Provides specific actions you want to take in various areas of your life
- Three most powerful questions to ask:
- How do I want to be remembered?
- What matters most?
- How can I get from here to where I want to be?
- Think of the Life Plan document as a GPS (Global Positioning System) for your life
Benefits of a Life Plan
- Clarifies priorities
- Helps maintain balance in life
- Filters opportunities
- Helps level-set on reality
- Envisions the future
- Helps avoid regrets
The second half of the book dives into the details of crafting and implementing one’s life plan. I appreciate how the authors leverage the accounting term, “chart of accounts,” for cultivating one’s “life accounts” and utilizing three concentric circles of living: circle of being, circle of relating, and circle of doing. (see p.72-76). There are also plenty of examples of life plans to find inspiration and deeper understanding to inspire you in writing your own document.
After reading the book, I took my time in drafting my own life plan, which totaled eight pages. One of the most challenging sections to write is the legacy statement – a self eulogy of how you want to be remembered. I felt a deeper sense of purpose in what matters once I wrote this part.
Some of my “chart of accounts” includes family, relationships, spirituality, finances, career, and health. The personal document is a living and active work unique to my life purpose. It is one tool in my personal growth toolbox that helps me live in the forward direction of who I want to become, an ongoing process of living and growing towards my best self. I look forward to implementing the plan and seeing how this living document grows, changes, and influences my life purpose and direction over time.
The book concludes with three helpful tips to implement your own life plan:
- Triage your calendar (make time to execute your plan)
- Schedule your priorities (focus on the right commitments)
- Learn to say no with grace (so you can say yes to the right things)
How do you want to be remembered?
What matters most to you?
How can you get to where you want to be?
What are you going to do about it?
And when?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one, wild and precious life? – Mary Oliver
Kathy says
This is great Denise – makes me evaluate all the time I’m spending in an overwhelmed space and missing the boat of really living my purpose. Thank you so much for these loudly spoken words!
Denise Pyles says
You are welcome Kathy. Living our purpose is a daily focus, always seeking opportunities to live with intentionality. Keep going and keep paddling in the river of life!