Self-Awareness 3/5: The Best Self Diary

Over the course of my journey into the world of personal development, I’ve repeatedly seen and experienced how the best piece of advice really is to just get started.

It’s something I’ve shared again and again in my writing, podcast, and coaching.

But for a lot of people, this only solves half the problem. The other half? Knowing what to get started on. They know they need to take action, but they don’t know what action to take.

This is why I strongly believe the starting point for anyone looking to step off of the conventional conveyor belt of society and create an exponential life is self-awareness. 

As with any journey, we cannot determine how to get to our destination if we don’t know our starting point. You need to know where you are before you can work out how to get to where you’re going.

In order to help you figure this out, I’ve created a 5-part series of articles to help you develop more self-awareness. In this series, I’ll share a new exercise each day to help you get clear on who you are, what you want and why you’re here.

I suggest doing these in a journal over the course of a week (1 each day) or longer if you wish. The point is not to rush through them, but rather to give each exercise (and yourself) the attention it deserves.

Simply find yourself a quiet place with no distractions (cellphones not allowed!) and allow yourself to really get into it.

Here are the links to all 5 parts in the series:

Part 1: Know Your Strengths

Part 2: Your 110-Year-Old Self

Part 3: The Best-Self Diary (below)

Part 4: 100 Questions

Part 5: 50 Life Experiences

BONUS: The Hedgehog Concept

If you’d prefer to get all 5 exercises immediately in a pdf guide, you can download my ebook ‘Do You Know You’ below:

Self-Awareness Part 3: The Best Self Diary

Scientists tell us that one of the best ways to cultivate optimism and create the life we really want is to write what they call a Best Self Diary. Here’s how it works.

Imagine your life 5 years from now (slightly easier than 110, right?). What does it look like? Where do you live? What do you do for work and in your free time? Who do you spend time with? What does your family look like? Imagine everything you’ve ever wanted and dreamed about has come true. How does that look and feel?

When we get clear on this, we build up our optimism.

Alternatively, when we’re feeling stressed, it’s usually because we’re feeling helpless. One way to counter this is to get a sense of what we’re working towards and cultivating the belief that we can get there.

That’s your exercise for today: Get clear on your ideal life 5 years from now. Enjoy carving out some time to really think about what you want to work towards, and then move on to part 4.

Alternatively, if you’d like to get all 5 exercises immediately in a pdf guide, you can download my ebook ‘Do You Know You’ below.