Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska

Wanda's Diary Entries

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

One of my many exciting opportunities as host of SIMPLE LIVING is contributing columns to Experience Life magazine, a cutting- edge, award-winning national magazine published by LifeTime Fitness and based in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

The column that I’m currently at work on for a summer issue is about planning—long-term planning. You know, at first blush, you might think that writing a piece about planning would be about as interesting as picking lint off socks, but yesterday I spoke with two fascinating individuals by phone who certainly turned that idea on its head.

One is a life coach named Elizabeth Barbour, based in Asheville, North Carolina. I was intrigued by her work in getting people on track, connecting them to their purpose in life. She said that most clients come to her overwhelmed by too much to do in a day and not enough time to do it. Half of her clients break down and cry on their initial interview.

Among the many tasks she asks of her clients is to set goals. A big part of goal-setting is to ask them what they think they’d feel like if they achieved a particular goal. Visualize that success. If you want a million dollars in the bank, ask yourself what it would feel like to have that. If you want to be married or to have children, put yourself mentally in that position: what would you experience then that you don’t experience now?

Another expert in planning with whom I spoke—a celebrated, Florida-based goal-setting guru named Gary Ryan Blair made a great point. The vast majority of people do not plan. “Planning is the one tool that gives you a significant competitive edge against the majority of population,” he said.

I am always inspired by the people with whom I come in contact: in person or over the phone. So today I am resolving to make a long term plan or several! My long term plan involves spreading the word about simple living to Americans and around the world.