Now that you understand the Feel — Think — Do process and the value of goal alignment you are ready to determine your driving emotions — how you want to feel and what that feeling means to you. Take a moment to review the life to-do list that I asked you to create from chapter 9. Now look at each dream or goal you listed and ask yourself this one question: How will I feel when I achieve this goal?

Use this emotion cloud as a guide.

Revisit 25 or 50 of your lifetime dreams and see what three emotions keep coming up time and time again. After reviewing a few of your dreams you will notice a trend.

When you feel you have the three positive driving emotions that you most connect with and relate to, and that just feel right to you, then move on to part two of this exercise, which is to determine what each driving emotion means to you.

It’s not about finding the right definition out of a dictionary; it’s about creating your own definition that suits you, that means something to you. Your definition could be a few words, a number of sentences or a list of bullet points. There is no right or wrong answer; however, the more detail you can put around your driving emotions the more connected you will become to it.

For example, these are my three driving emotions and what they mean to me:

• Energised. I have energy to burn every day. I have an endless supply of energy for my family, my clients, my audiences and my friends. I am upbeat, positive and seek out ways to move forward. I take everything in my stride. Everything I do is effortless. I have great energy to overcome challenges, roadblocks and issues as they arise. And my energy is infectious: it engages, inspires and recharges people I come in contact with. My energy is sustainable and self-perpetuating.
• Impactful. I am 100 per cent certain of the work I need to be doing in my life. I am a living example of a purposeful and positive person pursuing my passions. I understand my gifts and talents and use them in a meaningful and impactful way. People recognise our excellence and appreciate what we are providing. We assist people to have more meaningful conversations with the people who mean the world to them.
• Successful. I know I am making a positive difference in my family life and my work life. I am doing work that matters and makes a difference, and that is important to me. I am creating a positive, passionate legacy for others to enjoy and benefit from when I am gone. I am recognised as a leading expert in my field, a world-class presenter and facilitator capable of moving people to be more and have more in their lives. I take the complex and make it simple and take the simple and make it personally compelling.

The great benefit of setting goals based on emotional drivers first is that it opens you to the potential of so many other opportunities to experience that emotion
in your life, because form follows emotion.

You are most likely aware of the axiom Form follows function. Hartmut Esslinger, founder of FROG Design, who was contracted by Apple in 1982 to work on the design of the Macintosh Computer, coined the revealing phrase ‘Form follows emotion’. By becoming emotionally connected to your goal you help to manifest it. Like begets like, and the happier you are the happier you will become.

FORM FOLLOWS EMOTION.

All goals that are important to you will have an emotional connection. If the goal is important to you yet its achievement has eluded you, then you need to create an emotional, mental and physical connection to it — a connection that has a clear personal why, a defined personal what it is you’re actually trying to achieve and a personal plan for how you are going to make it a reality. Let’s now explore how you apply this concept to long-term planning.