Create your Life Vision.  This powerful exercise will ground you in your goals and what you truly want for your future.  After several years in a military mindset, it can become difficult to see yourself doing anything else.  This will help you stretch your “imagination muscles” and prepare you for a more flexible lifestyle.

Using the following questions as a guideline, picture vividly in your imagination how you would like your future to be.  Don’t analyze what you see.  Judging how reasonable or possible it is or how you could earn a living at it will only get in the way of your creativity.  Don’t think about timelines, 3/ 5/ 10 year goals.

Give yourself permission to create your perfect future with childlike curiosity, fun and imagination.  Please be sure this future is what you want, not what you think it should be or ought to be or needs to be.  And certainly not what you think will please everyone else.  This is just for you.

Don’t hurry this; let it come easily and naturally to you. When you have a clear picture, open your eyes and write down everything you imagined.  It’s best to put this on a computer so you can easily change it and add to it during the next several months.  Make it a habit to go over it and update it every week.  It’s THAT important to your transition!

• What do you look like?
• How do you feel? (Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually)
• What are your personality characteristics?  How do you act?
• What characteristics do the people around you have?
• What interests do the people in your life have?  (Similar to yours or different)
• How do you feel when you are with the people in your life?
• Where are you living?  (Geographic description or specific location)
• What style of house do you live in?  (Describe it from roof line to door knobs)
• How is your home furnished?  (Everything from bath towels to baseboards)
• What things do you own or have unlimited use of?  (Transportation, equipment, small and large, this is all your ‘stuff’)
• How do you feel when you are in your home?
• What type of work do you spend most of your time doing?  (Physical, mental)
• Which skills are you using regularly?
• Where are you when you’re working?  (Inside, outside, small, large, busy, quiet)
• How many hours a day, days per week, and weeks per year do you work?
• What type of products or materials are you working with?
• What are you creating?  (Tangible, intangible, think little, think big)
• What subjects are you learning about?
• What are you talking about all day?
• How many people do you interact with daily when you’re working?
• How do you feel when you’re working?
• What level of responsibility do you have?  Why is this important to you?
• What are your day-to-day rhythms?
• How do you spend your leisure time?
• Where do you go for vacation?
• How often do you take vacations?  How long do they last?
• How much income do make monthly and annually?
• What are the sources of your income?

Go over each part of this exercise.  What mini-steps could you start taking today to live your vision?  What changes are you willing to make now that will move you closer to your vision?

This is part of a complete step-by-step military retirement checklist. I’ll be posting weekly action steps here, so please subscribe over in the right-hand column so you’re sure to get each update.