I have always had a craving to be better in life then I currently am. Whether it is my walk with God, my relationship with my wife & kids, or just how I handle my time. I want to be better today than yesterday. Life can get extremely busy and I am always looking for ways to simplify my life.

That being said, I have tried many things in my life (most of which did not work). I have tried all of the gadgets and tested every theory imaginable. Everything I tried seemed to have a gap or just did not fit right. I used to chalk it up to a lack of self discipline and that I just needed to “try harder.” Have you been there?

So, you know what I would do? Go extreme! Out of my frustration I would try to create all this discipline and manage my time to 10 minute increments only to become absolutely miserable in the process. It is not that I was not organized, but that I was bored in that organization. After 2 or 3 days of strict discipline I would unravel and go back to my old ways.

We see this a lot with people who are on diets. You restrict yourself for so long with “boot camp mentality” only to come to a crashing halt several days later. So, what do you do?

The Simple Life Formula

I want to share a basic formula with you that I have personal used over the last year to get my life going in the right direction. This formula will give you a lot of freedom in life and pull you in your desired direction at the same time. Today, I am going to just briefly share the basics of the formula and will expound on each of them in later posts.

The Simple Life Formula has four parts:
1. A Desired Destination
2. Divided into Small Steps
3. Minus Good Intentions
4. Multiplied by Focused Intensity

1. Select a Desired Destination
Do you know where you are heading in life? The truth is all of us are heading in a certain direction. Whether you want to or not you are heading toward a destiny. A life that is out of focus is constantly changing direction and this can lead to confusion and bewilderment in life.

A person who lives with a life of purpose has a desired destination in life. The first step in the process is for you to get absolutely clear about the goal you are trying to achieve. For example, you might want to be:

* Debt free before you turn 40
* Find your life’s work
* Have an incredible relationship with spouse
* Lose 30 pounds and gain energy
* Run a marathon

You need to get clear on the destination because whether you choose to or not you are already headed toward a destination.

2. Divide into Small Steps
Did you know there is a downside to having a lofty goal for your life? You can become quickly discouraged when you see the gap from where you are to where you want to be. Most people who set out with some lofty goal give up soon after because they do not see instant results.

We live in a microwave society where not only do we want results but we have to see it now. To be honest, this is my biggest struggle, I can by nature be extreme. I try to super-charge my goals and accomplish everything in one day.

Once you get clear on your goal. You need to then break it down into several baby steps. This is essential and most people miss this step altogether. Do not make that mistake! Figure out what your 1st logical baby step is and let that be your new goal. Write that baby step on several cards and place it in different areas. That is your new focus. Forget everything else for the moment.

3. Minus Good Intentions
Good intentions can easily get in our way if we are not careful. How many times have good intentions led us astray? We want to be healthy and have really good intentions of being that way but then our daily choices do not add up. We want to handle our money correctly and get out of debt but our check register paints a different picture. Good intentions are not good enough.

You have to pick one goal and decide that you are going to cut off all good intentions. The word decision means “to cut off.” You have to literally decide that you are going to cut off any other possibility. You have a desired destination and a small step to focus on.

4. Multiplied by Focused Intensity
Lastly, you want to give some power to this Simple Life Formula and you do that by multiplying it with focused intensity. My biggest problem was trying to do too many things at once. I would see 9 areas of my life that I wanted to see dramatic improvement in so I would try to begin 9 new habits at the same time. That just simply does not work. Remember this: Multi-task to your own peril.

The truth is you can become quickly discouraged when you see one centimeter of improvement over several areas of your life. Instead I challenge you to just pick one and get momentum on your side. You will get to the rest in due time, but for now just choose one.
Then, have your small step in mind and attack it with a vengeance. Let it dominate your mind and make it a real habit. You will not believe the rush of adrenaline and momentum you will receive from this process.

I have used this formula over and over again in my life to create the life habits that I desire. Isn’t it time you do the same?