Did you know airplanes, or more so, airline schedules are 90% off course when they leave the ground? Yet despite this, most of them arrive at their intended destination and the intended time. Mind blown!

What I’m getting at here is between air traffic control and guidance systems pilots are constantly course correcting. See where I’m going with this? When these corrections are dealt with immediately, they aren’t hard to manage. So I’ve been told. However when they are ignored there’s a good chance of imminent catastrophe…do you get it now?

Sit back for a story. In 1979, a passenger jet with 257 souls on board left New Zealand for Antarctica and back. However, the pilots were unaware that someone had altered the flight coordinates by a measly two degrees, which would put the plane 28 miles east of where the pilots assumed it was going to be. Approaching Antarctica, the pilots descended to give the passengers a view of the brilliant landscapes. Sadly, the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of, you guessed it geography nerds, Mount Erebus. Which by the way is active. Cue “Joe vs. the Volcano” flashbacks here.
The snow on the volcano blended with the clouds above, deceiving the pilots into thinking they were flying above flat ground. When the instruments sounded a warning of the quickly rising ground, it was too late. The plane crashed into the volcano, killing everyone on board. Sorry, I know you expect happy tales with me. But bear with.

The moral of the story is, error of only a few degrees brought about an enormous tragedy. Small things – if not corrected – become big things. Always.

Fine, for those of you in the back I’ll spell it out. This flight is an analogy for life.. Even seemingly inconsequential aspects of our lives can create ripples and waves of consequence – for better or for worse. So, How are you piloting your life?

Are you listening to the feedback you are receiving to correct your course?
Do you check your guidance system? Do you even have one?
Where is your destination? When are you going to get there?
Do you feel like or are you currently off course? How long have you been flying there?
How would you know if you are on the right course?
We all have turbulence from time to time, how can you minimize it and other conditions distracting your path?

These things have been haunting me as of late. You know meditation is a big deal to me and truly I feel it is the best way to quiet the noise of your mind. We already have the answers to the questions that plague us. We are often just too terrified of fucking up, or hurting someone, even if that someone is yourself. You see I’ve had anxiety the past couple of years. First I blamed my divorce, then my dad’s death, then a surgery complication, then work complications and then…I sat still. I determined that I haven’t been on my course for a couple of years. I’ve been leading a good life, but was it my best? No, I could do better. You see, I’d been making flight plan changes to distract my pain and felt I needed to help those around me.

In the midst of Covid-19, yes, there I said it. At least I didn’t say “in these uncertain times,” shit I just did. Anyway, it truly is a good way to take stock of the important things. So below is my course correction. Perhaps it’ll help you stay out of the volcano as well.

1. Organizing Your Life
I don’t think I’m alone in being slightly scattered and sloppy about certain areas of my life.

Life is busy.

It’s hard to keep everything organized and tidy. And maybe you don’t want to have an organized life. But moving forward will require far less energy if you remove the excessive baggage and tension. Everything in your life is energy. If you’re carrying too much – physical or emotional – your progress will be hampered. Stephen Covey, you know the guy who invented the adult version of the trapper keeper. Or maybe better known for writing The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, explains that, “Some things are important and some things are urgent. Most people spend their life prioritizing urgent and “shallow” activity (e.g., answering emails, putting out proverbial fires, and just day-to-day stuff).”

Very few people have organized their lives to prioritize almost exclusively important and “deep” activity (e.g., learning, health, relationships, travel, and goals). Seriously, no one cares about your success more than you do. If you’re not a meticulous accountant about the important details of your life, then you aren’t responsible enough to have what you say you want. I know, adulting is hard. And lately I’ve been vantisizing about a simpler life. No, that’s not a typo. If I had discovered all this self worth mindful stuff 20 years ago, I’d totally be living down by a river. So I’m doing the next best thing and trying to adopt minimalism and cultivate a new flight plan. One that won’t drop me in a volcano. I don’t do well with heat.

So how do you organize your life? Energize! I’ve always wanted to say that.

Environmental energy

Is your living space cluttered and messy or simple and neat?
Do you keep stuff (like clothes, holiday decorations, the gift from Aunt Karen) you no longer use?
If you have a car, is it clean or just another place to keep your clutter and garbage?
Does your environment, this includes personal interactions, facilitate the emotions you consistently want to experience?
Does your environment, again personal interactions included, drain or improve your energy?

Edit your life ruthlessly. This includes the clutter of our surroundings and interactions. As humans we absorb the energy around us, it either inspires or drowns. Have you ever noticed a friend, or even yourself, change behavior because they or you started to hang out with certain types of people? Sometimes it’s for the better, but more often not. People want to bask in good energy.

Financial energy

Do you have unnecessary debt?
Do you know how many dollars you spend each month?
Do you know how many dollars you make each month?
Are you making as much money as you’d like to be?

Most people don’t track their expenses. But if they did, they’d be shocked at how much money they waste on stuff like eating out or buying Starbucks. OMG I’ve saved SO much money not drinking lattes! This ambivalent behavior is holding me back from the goals I’m trying to accomplish. Like living in a van, down by the river.

Relational energy

Are your relationships the most meaningful and enjoyable part of your life?
Do you spend enough time nurturing the relationships that really matter?
Do you maintain toxic relationships that no longer serve you?
Are you authentic and honest in your relationships?

Like money, most people’s relationships are not organized in a conscious manner. But with something so critical, we really should take better stock of them. And listen to the little voice in your head. Are your relationships inspirational or despirational. Do they bring you joy? If you can’t answer this, are you settling because you’re tired, or feel this is good enough? This isolation quarantine thing has made people face their loneliness. It’s not pretty.

Health energy

Do you eat with the end in mind?
Are you conscious of and in control of the foods you put in your body?
Does the food you eat improve or worsen the other areas of your life?
Does your body reflect your highest ideals?
Is your body as strong and fit as you want it to be?
Are you healthier now than you were three months ago?

Health is wealth. If you’re bedridden, who cares how organized the other areas of your life are? It’s so easy to put our health on the side, such as forgoing sleep, over consuming stimulants, or depressants, and making poor eating habits. This little course corrections which seems like a little things become big things pretty quick. Please take the inflatable device out from under your seat and place around your head in case of an emergency evacuation…eventually everything catches up. Oh look! A volcano!

Spiritual energy

Do you have a sense of purpose in life?
Have you come to terms with life and death in a way you resonate with?
How much power do you have in designing your future?
Death, it turns out, is not your greatest fear. Actually, your greatest fear is reaching death not having truly lived.

This ties in with Environmental energy. It’s all connected, right? When you organize your spiritual life, you become clear on what your life is about. You become clear on what you stand for, and how you want to spend each day. You develop conviction for what really matters to you, and what is a distraction. Well defined or not, everyone has a moral system governing their behavior. Most people believe in being honest and decent. When you don’t organize your spiritual life, you’ll experience internal conflict because you’ll act contrary to your values and vision.

Time

How much of your time do you feel in complete control of?
Is your time being wasted on things you don’t intrinsically enjoy?
Are the activities you spend your time doing moving you toward your ideal future?
Are you spending most of your time furthering your own agenda or someone else’s?
What activities should you remove from your life?
How much time do you waste each day?
What would your ideal day look like?
What activities could you outsource or automate that take up your time?

Until you organize your time, it will disappear and move quickly. Before you know it, you’ll wonder where all the time went. Once you organize your time, it will slow down. You’ll be able to live more presently. You’ll be able to experience time as you want to. You’ll control your time rather than the other way around.

Stop what you’re doing and get organized. Getting organized puts you in a position to build toward the future you want. The fastest way to move forward in life is not doing more. It starts with stopping the behaviors holding you back. Life is a matter of stewardship. Rather than wanting more, more, more, it’s key to take proper care of what you currently have. Organize yourself. Dial it in. Your life is a garden. What good is planting if you don’t prepare the soil and remove the weeds?

2. Plan and Invest in Your Future

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”  – Chinese proverb

Taking these foundational areas of life and organizing them is essential to creating your ideal future.
Very few people consciously plan and design their life. It’s actually startling how few Americans are investing in their future.

Your vision should be based on your why, not on your what.

Your why is your reason; your what is how that is manifest. And your what can happen in a ton of different ways. For example, my why is to live my best life. My what could be going back to school, moving back to Colorado and several other things in between. Too many people think creating a vision is about nailing down exactly what they want in the next 20 years. The problem with this mega long-term approach to goal setting is that it actually slows your potential. It’s not sustainable, and therefore unobtainable. BE HERE NOW.

Instead of having a pre-set plan of what you want to do, narrow it down to three- to six-month experiments that are obtainable and excited about. Let’s face it. none of us have a great attention span. manipulate the Whats in your life but the Whys shouldn’t change.

When you choose to forgo momentary gratification in order to have an enhanced future, you are investing in your future. Most people fail to do this successfully. Most people don’t purposefully invest in their finances, relationships, health, and time because we have been brainwashed into instant gratification. But when you invest in yourself, your future and your relationships, you ensure your future present moments will continue to get richer and more enjoyable. Thus your life will continue getting better and more in line with your ideal vision.

3. Tracking Important Metrics

Getting organized and investing in your future are futile if you’re not tracking. You need to be on top of what’s going on. Tracking is difficult. It’s like being on a strict diet. If you’ve tried it before, chances are, you quit within a few days. Research has repeatedly found that when behavior is tracked and evaluated, it improves drastically. If you’re not tracking the key areas of your life, then you’re probably more off course than you think. If you were to be honest with yourself, you would be stunned at how out of control things have become. The cool part is, once you get organized, make a plan, and start tracking, desired change happens quickly. Track the things that are closely related to your core priorities. Your priorities reflect your why. Thus, your life should be build around your priorities. Not the other way around. Once you embrace your priorities, you’ll be living a simple yet organized and refined life. You’ll be responsible, which is freedom.

4. Prayer and Meditation to Reduce Noise

There’s a lot of emphasis on hustle these days. But all the hustle in the wrong direction isn’t going to help you. If you don’t put the oxygen mask on yourself first, you can’t help the person next to you.
This happens way too often. We get caught in the thick of things. Far too late do we realize that in our mad rush, we were pursuing someone else’s goals instead of our own. But spending a large chunk of time in prayer or meditation, call it what you will, does more than provide clarity to what you’re doing. These things open your mind up to possibilities you can’t get while busy.

For example, a week or so ago I spent the entire morning meditating, thinking deeply, listening to music, writing in my journal, feeling the vibrations in my body. A few hours into this process I got insights regarding important relationships and goals and devised a short term plan on how to course correct. During that time I immediately sent out emails and applied for jobs back home or those that would bring me closer to it. I also felt a great loss as I would inevitably need to dissolve a relationship with a very good man.

But there’s more.

Your thoughts are incredibly powerful. They actually govern not only you but also those around you. Think about it. If you think positively about the people you’re around, their lives are better. And when they are clouded, their lives are too. Your thoughts create endless ripples – even waves – of consequence all around you. While praying or meditating for a large length of time, the level of your thoughts will elevate. And interesting things will begin happening. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of miracles, think of it as luck. Whatever you call it, when you spend large portions of time every day in deep reflection, luck strikes. Stuff happens that is completely outside of your control for your benefit. As Buddha states, “what you imagine, you attract.” Soon I received invitations to interview for jobs that would bring me closer to my goal and gave me the courage to let go with love. If you’re skeptical of these ideas, give it a try. Why do you think the world’s most successful people have rituals such as these? There is a higher realm you can tap into that unlocks limitless possibilities. The only thing holding you back from those things is your mind.

5. Move Toward Your Goals Every Single Day

How many days go by where you did nothing to move toward your big goals? Probably too many.

Life is busy.

If you don’t purposefully carve time out every day to progress and improve, then without question, your time will get lost in the vacuum of our increasingly crowded lives. Before you know it, you’ll be old and withered, wondering where all that time went. After you’ve gotten yourself organized, made plans, started tracking, and gotten into the habit of prayer or meditation, taking action and hustling will be automatic. It’s really easy to get off course in life. Like airplanes, we constantly need to make course corrections.

Now, take off!