Distil it down

Now that you’ve brainstormed, gathered your pictures, and taken notes, try distilling down your vision into a short statement that would fit on a postcard. That postcard is a greeting from your future self, telling you all about the success coming up in your future.

Aim to write the card in the present tense.

Instead of “I will be…”, “In the future…”, or “I want to…”, write as if it has already happened. Write as if you’re living the life you’re creating for yourself.

For example, that would look more like, “I am…”, “I have…”, “I completed…”, “ I feel…”

For a moment, pretend you’re already there.

And, when you come back from your imagination and ground back in the present moment, use each moment to get you a small step closer to making your dream destination a reality.

Some examples

“I am living my best life, which means I honour my body each day with movement and good nutrition.”

“I’m a diabetes patient who has reduced my medication in half by managing my A1C through supporting lifestyle and behavioural choices such as…”

“I am a happy and healthy woman. I love doing activities that challenge my strength and stamina, so I am both a gym and outdoor enthusiast. I eat foods that taste good and make me feel good. I live by no ‘right or wrong’ way of eating… I eat to fuel my body and what my body needs day to day can ebb and flow, and I understand and I am ok with that. I know that I’m eating well when I feel no guilt or heaviness. I feel confident, alive, and well.”

“I am dedicated to living my life creatively and joyfully, and to learning new things. I eat well, and mindfully because it feels good. I choose activities that are fun and teach me skills. I am trying at least one new sport or activity every six months to keep things fresh.”

You have to keep doing what you’re doing as long as you can do it: Julia Hawkins

For me, I have set up the following goals for my centenarian year, when I will be 100:

• Get up off the floor without support. (So I have to work on core, arm, and shoulder strength)

• Pick up my great-grandchild or maybe great-great-grandchild that’s running to me. (strength in quads, glutes, arms, and shoulders, stability)

• Walk up and down two floors of stairs with 5 – 7 kgs of groceries in each hand (forearm and grip strength, hip and leg strength, stability)

• Lift my 15 kg camera bag and put it in the overhead bin by myself (core, arm, shoulder, and back strength)

• Run a half marathon (aerobic and anaerobic strength, leg and core)

So, all my training is centred around

1. Stability

2. Strength

3. Aerobic efficiency

4. Anaerobic performance

I don’t do anything fancy that we keep seeing on Instagram. Anything that does not fall in my long-term goal. Also, I try to optimise six simple basic things that can save me from the most possible causes of death and they are:

1. Eat nutritious whole foods

2. Move more

3. Prioritise sleep

4. Improve my immunity

5. Work on my emotional well being

6. Avoid adventures that can cause a severe accident

Once you understand how important this approach is, a great way to stick to it is to create milestones. For example, setting annual goals in each pillar can be great for developing a sense of accountability.