Defining “the Gap” And The Steps You Need To Take To Close I

By Author: Miami Phillips
Total Articles: 6
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What is The Gap? We define the Gap as the difference between where you are in your life right now and where it is that you would like to be. Once you define and understand where you are now, personally, professionally, financially, emotionally, physically or in any other category that you wish to measure, then you have a good starting point. In order to change something, you must know what you are changing from. Here is a tool we can use to measure where you are now. It is called The Wheel of Life. Draw a circle on an 8x10 sheet of paper using about 3/4 of the sheet. Divide the circle in half, then into quarters and then again so that you end up with a pie of eight pieces. On the outside of the circle, label each line with the following: physical environment, career, money, health, friends and family, significant other/romance, personal growth, fun and recreation. Each line represents a measurement of where you think you are now, or your level of satisfaction in that category. Score yourself for each category from 1-10 placing a point on the line of the pie. The closer to the center, the lower the score. A one would be a ...
... very low rating and would be on the line near the center and a nine would be a very high rating and be placed near the outside of the circle. Makes sense? If not, send for the worksheet! Next, draw a line from point to point within and across the pie pieces of the circle. Start at any point and draw your line up or down along the measuring line as needed and then straight across to the next point on the next line. You should end up with a funny looking wheel in the middle of the circle. This gives you a visual as to how your life is balanced and in what areas you might need work. Now, use a different color and do the exercise again. This time place your points where you want to be. Draw in your lines and look at your wheel. Does it feel better than the original one? Adjust your settings until you feel comfortable. Your Gap is the difference in the two wheels. How big is it? What are you doing to close your Gap? Closing the Gap - Step 1 - The Wheel of Life Now that you have defined The Gap" in your life by using the Wheel Of Life, how do you make it smaller? (Remember we said the Gap is the difference between where you are and where you want to be.) There are many ways to begin work on this, but I think the most important thing to keep in mind is Rome was not built in a day. - you will not change your life in a day. These changes will be gradual, a work in progress, and ultimately only seen when looking back at where you have been! One day you will review your accomplishments and say to yourself: Look how far I have come! I always like to start with this thought. We all are chasing our dreams. We all have visions of our dream life where everything is just how we want it to be. We all are constantly reaching up to that imaginary spaceship just out of reach to catch it and bring it to us. If we could only work a little harder, run a little faster we could catch this spaceship and have everything we want. Can you identify with this? DO you believe that your dreams are attainable, but for some reason they remain just out of reach? I ask you to change your thinking. I have found that we are going about this the wrong way. You see, if you look down at your feet, there is a huge pile of stuff laying there on the ground in front of you. We can name the things in this pile. These are things you are tolerating, boundaries that have not been set, values that have not been identified, and other miscellaneous stuff that can be cleaned up. Once you go to work on this pile and clean it up, the ship carrying your dreams will be able to land right in front of you! You see the problem is your ship cannot land because your landing pad needs clearing out! The series of articles to follow will focus on clearing out your landing pad so your ship can land. I can tell you how to clear it, but you have to do the work. I can help you understand why you have to clear it, but you must do the work. I can show examples of what happens when you do the work, but you must do the work. DO you see a pattern forming? Not to repeat myself, but you must do the work to make this happen. There is no pill, no set of tapes, no books, no Coach, and no quick fix to make this happen for you. If there was, I would sell it and make a lot of money and give it to you! Are you willing to work to make this happen for you? Would you like your "Wheel of Life" to look balanced? Would you like to feel and live a balanced life and have all that you want? This is your first assignment. Begin the process by changing your mind. Decide that you can have what you want and you are willing to do what it takes to get it! Closing The Gap - Step 2
Start By Changing Your Thinking The difference between where you are today in your life and where you want to be is defined as the 'Gap'. We are working today on techniques to close your 'Gap'. This is one in a series of articles related to this subject. One of the most crucial and important things about this exercise is to continually work on your mindset. If you look at the whole idea of changing your life to get where you want to be, once you get to where you want to be there will, naturally, be another place waiting for you. What this means is that you will always be closing your "Gap"! So many people think that if they could only get what they are dreaming of, that happiness would follow for the rest of their days. NOT TRUE! Here is a concept for you to consider very carefully. If you are not happy now, more than likely you will not be happy when you get what you want. Happiness cannot be tied to results. If it could be, you would be trouble because there are always more results; more money, more friends, more house, more cars, more, more, more. It is not your fault, this is what you have been taught since you came into the world. Here is a solution. Be happy now. I wish I could see your face and hear your thoughts. (Send them to me please!) Let me make a suggestion on how to be happy now ... write down ten things in your life for which you are grateful. These do not have to be big things; flannel sheets you love, the morning sun in a window, your children or your spouse, your health. Can you think of more? Being grateful for what you have opens the door for more. Being grateful for what you have always allows you to see the joy in your life as it is. Post your list where you can constantly see it to remind you of the good things. Being grateful allows for happiness; happiness is a state of mind, not an outcome. Sure you can have bursts of pleasure which can produce highs of happiness, but you can also train your Self, through appreciation of what you have and what is available to you, to be happy. This is the formula we all must follow. Be who you are. Do what you love. Have what you deserve. Be, Do, Have. I would wager a fair sized bet that if you are not happy, and if you are struggling, then you might have the formula mixed up. Are you Doing something so you can Have stuff so you can Be somebody? We will cover this in detail at a later date. Today, work on your thoughts. Be happy, and open the doors to allow the Universe to help you to close your "Gap". Closing the Gap - Step 3
Build Your Reserves! We continue the series on closing The Gap in your life. The Gap is defined as the difference in where you are and where you want to be. So far we know the most important step is to change your thinking and that we all might be chasing our dreams instead of clearing the space for our ship of dreams to land. Another very important key is to build reserves. We all need reserves of time, money, joy, health and love. When you have reserves, you have the space and freedom from which to operate and live without fear. For many people, the first goal of closing the gap is more money. Money problems seem to rob us of the ability to have joy, love, or time. If we are struggling to find money, usually it is tied to overwork, poor health, and unhappiness. May I suggest that the focus be on changing what you can change first? Sometimes we are unable, for whatever reason, to attract the ability to increase our income level. Don't let that stop you. Start on the other items you can change. You are in direct control of what you spend. Look closely at where you are spending your money. Educate your Self about money. Money is simply a tool to be used and is not the almighty powerful deity-like qualities we sometimes attribute it to be. Read the books that have been written by people who have already learned this lesson. The Universe gives according to what we deserve, not what we desire. As you become more aware and more in control, you will find opportunities opening to you that you never saw before. You are in direct control of your health. You can be much stronger when you are in full health; eat right, exercise, force your Self to acquire the habits necessary to take back control of your most precious gift - as well as the vehicle that carries you from place to place - your body. Believe it or not, you can control your time. Ask your Self this question. Why is it that some people get so much done in a single day? We all have the same powers, the same choices, the same 24 hours. It is simply how you choose to spend your time and who you spend your time with that makes the difference. Use a calendar to schedule the important things in your day. Be sure to do those items first! Not only will you be more productive, but your energy levels will rise as you see progress from the best use of your time. Choose to be happy. Simply make the choice. You can remove those things, and people, in your life that, for whatever reason, are unable to see life as a wonderful gift that only needs to be appreciated. Begin by giving thanks for all you have and all you are about to receive. Being thankful and being happy opens up so many doors for you to receive. Give out happiness everywhere you go. Follow these simple, but powerful, guidelines, and you will see a huge improvement in your life. And, you will also notice the beginning of the closing of your 'Gap'. The idea is to build reserves of these items so that when things do go wrong, as they sometimes do, you have plenty to draw from. Miami Phillips is an ANSIR Certified Personal Coach and the founder of Creative MasterMinds. Miami believes personal growth is an essential ingredient to being happy and contributing to this world. Through his coaching, ebooks and teleclasses he provides a path for motivated people to find passion and balance in their lives by understanding their life purpose and the power of personal growth