Importance of Having a Daily Vision & Setting your Non-Negotiables

Importance of Having a Daily Vision & Setting your Non-Negotiables.

I am not the first and the only one to talk about the importance and power of having a vision. I have come to realize that not having a vision is perhaps the biggest reason why so many people are extremely unhappy and unfulfilled.

‘Vision’ Two Ways

You should have an overall vision for your life and then you should have a daily vision as well. Both are equally important. Ultimately you are going to have to break your big vision down into tiny bite sized step-by-step visions for each day.

Today’s blog post is all about thinking about your daily vision and also carefully planning your perfect day. Define & describe your perfect day to the very last detail so that when life actually happens you know what is important to you and how you should plan your day to schedule & prioritise things that really matter.

A 10-minute meditation just before bed where you visualise your perfect day as well as the same mediation in the morning before you start your day really helps in setting the right intention and bringing yourself into the zone.

Having some rituals or having a routine as a part of your perfect day is crucial. These rituals are your 'non-negotiables', are almost sacred, they are yours & yours alone, your time to be with yourself and really reflect on your life. These rituals can be extremely healing and energizing.

Days that are planned out in advance bring about a sense of peace, calm and dare I say even a sense of joy. Whereas days that are left to last minute reacting are often full of misery and overwhelm. This makes me wonder if us humans are creatures of purpose, driven by a well-designed plan?

My perfect day (working or non-working) looks a little bit like this.

• I wake up at 6 am and if on a particular day I feel overly sleepy I listen to some upbeat music to really wake me up. 
• I then quickly hydrate my body and then listen to a 15 minute guided meditation.
• I aim to get in at least half an hour of exercise- I love yoga but if I feel I need to jump up & down a bit more I also love doing HIIT workouts via YouTube.
•  I then get outside for at least 10-15 minutes for a small walk, just being close to nature is incredibly healing. 
• I then come back home to prepare & eat a powerhouse breakfast and really take some time to enjoy that.
• Once breakfast is done I will shower and get dressed.
• Throughout the day I like eating healthy meals and/or snacks.
• Evenings are for spending quality time with family & friends and having a delicious healthy dinner.
• I unwind in the evening by listening to an audiobook or podcast whilst pampering myself with some indulgent skincare.
• Sometimes I meditate at night and some times I don’t. There’s something for me to work on ;)
• I also take out some time to play & laugh; weather its dancing silly to Bollywood music or cooking or doing something fun with friends & family.  

This gives you an example of how you can set your own rituals and non-negotiables for living your perfect day.

This is how my perfect day would look like and any thing else that I achieve over and above this is an added bonus. Bear in mind I have not included any office work, meetings, house chores & other day-to-day tasks to this. The non-negotiables remain constant whereas daily plans or to-do lists change depending upon what needs to be accomplished on a particular day. I try to not go overboard with my to-do lists as having too many things on a list means your attention is diverted, if you don’t accomplish everything you end up feeling overwhelmed and stressed. I think its safe to say that you should choose quality over quantity and prioritise tasks and then carefully plan what all you need to accomplish on that particular day.

I am fully aware that as life pans out, some days you may not be able to live your perfect day but then again this is like a guide map and even if you deviate from the centre, you always know how & where you need to get back to.

Ultimately if broken down, success is measured by what you do daily.  Knowing what is important to you and then taking action on it everyday is a proven formula for success and happiness. And that’s why I think having a daily vision of your perfect day along with a set of rituals is so important.