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Feeling overwhelmed? Want more time with your kids? Do you dream of pursuing a new career goal? Do a Joyful Life Audit!
As full-time working moms, we don’t have a lot of time, especially to do a life audit. But I promise you, take the time to evaluate your current life status and you will be on your way to making a plan that will put you on a path to more freedom and joy.
What is a Joyful Life Audit?
This is not a new concept. I am not entirely sure who is the originator of this idea, but it is a great exercise to evaluate the current status of your life and to intentionally decide if you like the direction you are going, or if you want to make minor or major changes.
“Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans.” – John Lennon
It is true, you can’t control everything that happens to you in life, but you can certainly feel more confident by choosing a direction and sticking to it no matter what happens.
Why do a Joyful Life Audit?
Most people do a life audit because they want to fix something about their life. They are not happy with one or more areas of their life and they want to be “better” than they are now.
YOU ARE ALREADY WORTHY AND GOOD ENOUGH!
There is nothing wrong with you. You are not damaged.
You are 100% worthy, 100% of the time.
Natalie Bacon
It is important to understand this because we often think that life will be better once we have achieved a certain status or lost the weight. It sounds like this in our brains:
“Once I lose 50 pounds, then I will be happy.”
“Once I make $100K /year, then my life will be better.”
Be careful with this type of thinking. No matter what happens in life or when you accomplish your goals, there are always problems. For example, if your goal is to get a management position, and you think that you will be happier, think again. You will inevitably have a new set of problems. This is true for each phase of life.
So try changing your WHY for wanting to change the parts of your life to be just “for fun,” and not because it will make you more worthy or because you think it will eliminate the problems you have now.
“Problems are forever,” says my life coach, Natalie Bacon. So just decide to audit your life for FUN and no other reason. I can’t wait to hear how you have changed your life after this process.
Step 1: Awareness
Have you ever heard the saying,
“Awareness is the greatest agent for change,” by Eckhart Tolle?
Well, what if I told you that everything in your life is a result of your thoughts? If you’re new to personal development, then this concept is foreign to you.
We have to be aware of what we are thinking, feeling, and doing in our lives before we attempt to change.
Do a BRAIN DUMP and ask yourself some questions:
- How do I feel about my life now?
- What do I think about my life status?
- What results have I created in my life? (positive or negative)
- What do you think about the major categories of your life? (see below) Are you satisfied or not with each of them and why?
Note: This is not a time to beat yourself up. Do this with no judgment to yourself. Just be curious and honest with yourself. Remember, there is nothing wrong with you or how you have lived your life up until this point. There is always room for change.
Identify Your 8 Major Life Categories
Typical categories include:
- Family
- Marriage/partner
- Kids/parenting
- Health/fitness
- Wealth/finances
- Career/business
- Social
- Hobbies
- Faith/religion
**You can come up with any categories you like.
Step 2: Rate Your Life Categories on a Scale of 1 to 10.
(1 is not satisfied and 10 is very satisfied)
**Click HERE for your own copy of the worksheets found in this post. Enjoy!
Step 3: Decide on purpose to Start, Stop, or Continue
Before you move onto the next step, take a look at your brain dump and the way you have rated each category. Make sure you are looking at your thoughts from a place of love and not disappointment.
Now decide, on purpose, that you will take responsibility for your results from now on. This is so important because then you have all of the power and control over your life. It is not the bank’s fault that you took out a loan, or McDonald’s fault that you are overweight, or your husband’s fault that you have to work, even though you want to stay home. There is power in owning your results!
Next, for each category, decide what you want to Start, Stop, or Continue that will get you closer to a 10 for each area of your life. Chances are you are doing some things right that you should continue!
**Click HERE for your own copy of the worksheets found in this post. Enjoy!
Step 4: Decide to Live an Intentional Life
Where do you want to go from here?
Who do you want to be?
What are my core values?
Believe that anything is possible for each of the life categories.
You might be wondering, but what do I do next?
You need to get used to asking yourself this question and then answering it yourself. There is no wrong answer. We all want someone to just tell us what to do, but we need to trust that we know ourselves the best.
All you need to focus on is the next right move. Dream BIG! Whatever you decide is good enough because you are living life on YOUR TERMS.
Step 5: Create a Joyful Life Experiment Roadmap
Identify ONE category of your life that you want to get closer to a 10 on the rating scale. Ask yourself what you need to think, feel, and do to get there.
Choose a goal that is measurable.
For example:
I will lose 20 pounds in the next 90 days.
You don’t need to know the HOW. You just need to believe it is possible for you and create the path.
Ask yourself a question like, I know I need to lose weight, so what should I do next?
- I need to decide on a weight loss plan and stick to it.
- I need to plan ahead for my meals.
- I need to plan for the resistance and difficult situations ahead of time.
- I need to think that I am already beautiful and worthy. Losing weight will not mean I am more worthy.
- I need to decide on purpose that I am just a person who does not eat sugar unless it is a special occasion.
And viola, you have a road map!
Click HERE for a FREE Productivity Guide (a.k.a Road Map) printable!
Step 6: Take Massive Action
Massive action means you go ALL IN!
Not just kind of, “I’ll do it just during the weekday” kind of action, but each day, everyday, no matter what, kind of action.
The important thing to understand here is there is no Action Plan that is the right fit for everyone. The sooner you understand that YOU have all of the answers you need, the better. I know, I know. This sounds like some Karate Kids stuff, but it’s true (I’m showing my age)!
All you need to take is the next right step. Don’t stay in confusion. Start asking yourself some questions like:
- What weight loss program sounds the best?
- What can I eat and what should I not eat?
- What obstacles typically get in my way each time I start a diet?
Tony Robbins, known world-wide for his personal development workshops, most notably, Date with Destiny, uses a form like the one below to create a personal roadmap for massive action.
**Click HERE for your own copy of the worksheets found in this post. Enjoy!
You will most definitely fail, but your purpose or WHY needs to be strong. Keep your WHY on a post-it and put it on your bathroom mirror or make it into a home screen on your phone or laptop.
Tell your family what your goal is. Tell them why it is so important to you. Keep in mind, a support system is important, but it is not 100% necessary for you to accomplish your goal. If you don’t have a family that is supporting you, you will need to set boundaries around the times you are working towards your goal. Eventually they will get on board and realize that this is not just a phase.
You have to decide on purpose and protect your mindset by listening to motivational podcasts, upbeat music, etc. The person who succeeds believes she can create exactly what she wants, regardless of the hurdles.
Check out this post for strategies on how to take massive action:
“8 Steps to Set and Achieve Your Goals”
Suggested Reading
If you would like to read more about intentional living, I recommend the following books:
Final Thoughts
As a full-time working mom, intentional living is a must. You have to get your priorities in order. Rather than wondering if you are spending enough time with your family, why you don’t have enough time for yourself, if this is the life you dreamed about, do a life audit.
A Joyful Life Audit will help you put your life into perspective. It is very important not to beat yourself up during this process. You are amazing just the way you are, even if you did not change a thing!
But if you are wondering, what if? Then just choose one goal from your 8 life categories to change or adjust. There is absolutely no rush and you are worth it.
