Do your actions match your ambition?

What are your ambitions in life?

Just sit with that for a minute or so...

I doubt it looks very typical to the reality of most of the population. So if everyone has these ambitions, what separates those who fulfil them and those who don't?

ACTION!

What does the person who does achieve these things do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis? Do your actions look similar to that person?

I find it a useful exercise to create a character that fulfils your ambitions in your head, you in 10/15/20+ years if you like. What did he/she do that made them so successful in life and achieve all your greatest dreams?

For example if you wanted to get in great physical shape, imagine yourself in 2 years with your dream body. What did you do to get there? At a guess, that person probably worked out 4+ times per week, they were regimented with their diet and didn't make excuses.

Are you doing the same?

Another useful exercise to practice, often mentioned by Tony Robbins, is called 'mapping'. This is similar to the previous exercise but, instead of imagining a person, you study somebody who has actually achieved what you wanted. Like a public figure or even a friend.

Again, if you wanted to get in great shape, find an individual who has a physique similar to what you aspire to and study what they did to get there. Will this always be the best, most efficient way to do things? No it won't but...

SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES

The question of 'Do your actions match your ambition?' was first posed to me whilst under the mentorship of Mark Coles (Owner of M10 Gym) and it's something I've asked myself frequently since.

If the answer to the question is 'no' then you have 2 options:

1. Change your actions to match your ambition

2. Change your ambition to match your actions

Refusal to change your actions but keeping your ambition leads to deep feelings of guilt and general unhappiness due to constant underachievement. But if you were to make your ambition more realistic so that it matches your ambitions, although you may not reach the heights you initially set for yourself, you will almost instantly feel better about yourself and your life.

If you are more ambitious and willing to change then option 1 is a no brainer. It's harder work, more time consuming and allows you to focus less on other aspects of life. But if you're unable to let go of the ambition, those sacrifices are much more palatable than eternal guilt.

Make a choice: match your actions with your ambition or match your ambition with your actions.