Carmine

You are creating the person you will become by the way you envision that person, the goals you set, and the actions you take. By exercising your free will and consciously making choices, you become co-creator with the Maker of all things.

Do you want to go to graduate school or take fun courses? Do you get involved in social work or climb the social ladder? These are not right or wrong or even mutually exclusive decisions, but they do lead in different directions.

A lifeline exercise which is frequently used in career planning and management might be useful to "see" how your life looks, to gain insight into your world view, to chart relationship patterns, and to consider your future.

The usual lifeline is a line that extends from birth to death. However, in many cultures, more subtle perhaps in the western world, career is discussed, predicted and planned by family and community well before the birth of the child. Acknowledging this reality and addressing it will help us separate a personal vision from that of our family or community. This is not always an easy or comfortable task. We see this influence in some military families with several generations of military leaders. The first-born, particularly, senses some expectation that he or she will follow the family tradition.

Extending the lifeline to some years past our death challenges us to consider our "legacy." What do we hope to leave, what contribution do we wish to make, what are we REALLY working toward? Donna Holley has used this exercise with undergraduate and graduate business students. "It is a useful tool for students to 'see' what 'work life' has been for them and to chart their dreams and dreads about their career into the future."

Expand the scope of this exercise and consider life in general. (A model is provided in my book, Take charge of Your Life: Dare to Pursue Your Dreams.) Identify significant events of your life and note them. Events considered "positive" are usually written above the line and those considered difficult or "negative" below the line. Then consider the future by predicting significant events that will take place between now and some years (perhaps ten) after your death. Such events might involve aging parents, graduation, promotion, birth, death of a loved one, and so on.

The lifeline exercise will give you a snapshot of where you are now. It will show some of the events that have shaped who you are, and may encourage you to let go of things that are blocking your progress. Looking to the future, you can see some things that are likely to happen. Using the lifeline exercise will help making choices easier and more productive as you begin to develop a plan for your future.

Jo Condrill is a best-selling author, consultant, and professional speaker. Her book Take Charge of Your Life: Dare to Pursue Your Dreams presents a process for making life work the way you want it to. It's a great resource for developing your New Year's Resolutions and goal setting. http://www.goalminds.com/takecharge.html