"I'll work it out." This is how I'd always reassure myself while drifting aimlessly through my late teens. Clarity always seeming out of reach. I took any mind-altering substance I could get my hands on, often skipping classes to get drunk. I spent my days playing video games because I couldn't think of anything better to do with my time. It was a bleak.

But one day, somebody sparked a change in me. My teacher requested a private meeting with me. She must have noticed my total disinterest in school and indifference towards my grades. I didn't hide it well, I stopped showing up to a lot of classes and doing my homework. I couldn't care less.

It was an emotional day already, my cat had died the same day and I was at drowning in the emotions of unrequited love. She sat me down in her office where she managed the kids who had been excluded from school for misbehaving.

"You're slipping." she stated bluntly... I had no words. I respected her for her blunt honesty, but her confrontation only triggered my defensiveness:

"I don't think so... I'm working things out in my own way." I resonded weakly. But the look on her face said it all. I wasn't working out shit.

She then emphasized the necessity of planning out my life, a concept I knew was important yet seemed like a chore. I believed in living wild and free! Not maticulously orchestrating my life... But the truth is I simply had no guidance, and I wasn't destined for much the way I was living

We often find ourselves funneled through the conveyor belt of endless academia by society. We are always doing, but never thinking. If you're lucky, you might be encouraged to consult a career advisor or contemplate your interests.

"You have plenty of time."

"You'll figure it out."

"Why not travel for a bit?"

"Nobody knows what they want at your age, just find a job."

Although none of this is necessarily incorect, they miss something which is critical... Active inquiry and visioning.

I admit, I didn't return home that day with a transformed perspective, but her words left an impression on me. Something about the potential she saw in me and the potential waste if I didn't change. My teacher sowed a seed in my mind that day. Eventually it grew and lead me down a path of self-discovery and self-actualisation. This path took me on a journey that is far from linear, but beautiful nonetheless.

I was planning to do woodwork, it seemed okay. Far from acedemics and had some creative aspect to it. But when I inquired further through journaling about my values (a technique I discovered from self-development). I found that what I had most been wanting to do for a long time was create music.

But it seemed like only a dream. Impractical. But, getting over my limiting beliefs set me on my dreams. I did everything to be a producer, spending 6 hours a day studying and writing music, learning how to to DJ, getting courses. I didn't end up being a professional producer, I admit. But this isn't because I failed, it was because my values changed. I started to care more about spirituality and helping others in a more direct way.

The truth is what matters is that I overcame thousands of limiting beliefs on what was possible to me. I discovered the joy of chasing a goal motivated from the heart. Nothing is more beautiful than living in alignment with your heart's desire.

Branching paths fill the path of life and this can feel overwhealming. But unless we envision the place we want to end up, we will always choose the path of least resistance. A lack of purpose and direction lead us to opt for short term pleasures, vices and addictions. This is why we vision, when we can comprehend the value of the path with rewards far in the future, we take it. The most valuble things are the products of ceaseless consistency and wise decisions.

I cannot understate the importance of a meaningful vision. A vision that doesn't only gratify a desire for luxary but extends to something greater. One that aspires to achieve a remarkable feat, or aims to uplift the less fortunate, or endeavors to be a beacon of love in the lives of others. These are the visions that resonate, that motivate, that provoke action. The significance of these visions lies in their ability to extend beyond the individual and touch the wider community.

Think about a man struggling to quit cigarettes. He might not be able to do it for himself, but if he contemplates the thought of his daughter watching him succumb to lung cancer, he will tap into a deep reservoir of motivation. This is the power of meaningful purpose.

In Law of Attraction circles, there's a lot of talk about imagining the accomplishment of your goals to see them manifest. The key here lies not just in picturing the achievement, but immersing yourself in the feelings associated with that accomplishment. You must feel the euphoria of that moment and carry it with you. This is how we set our powerful subconscious on the task of bringing about the reflection of the feeling. The power of the vision overcomes the power of short term sensual pleasure. The way we unlock this great power is by asking:

Applying this question to every moment, every facet of life, and every decision you make can create a seismic shift in your life. You'll notice your life start to align with a deep sense of meaning and purpose. Let's put this into perspective with a couple of examples.

Let's say you want to live an abundant life with complete financial freedom. You currently work at a cafe but you want more - you find the hours long and the labour tough. But the thoughts of the labour of creating a business makes you shrink in fear let alone the risk of it not working. The job isn't great but you're surviving - the business on the otherhand has great potential but the process will be uncomfortable.

You have to decide what is more important.

If you don't contemplate this you will forever stick to your boring yet comfortable job. If you contemplate it enough you may come to the realisation that although it is risky, the business is worth the risk. Why? Because you've decided that financial freedom and abundance matter.

Another example...

Let's say you and your partner are having a disagreement about who should do the household chores. Tensions are escalating and it's turning into an argument rather than a discussion.

Before things spiral further, you pause and ask yourself, "What is the most important thing?"

In this context, you might decide the most important thing is not who does the dishes or who cleans the bathroom, but rather maintaining a loving, respectful relationship with your partner. This perspective can change the nature of the conversation.

Instead of insisting on your point of view, you may decide to express your feelings about the issue in a calm and understanding way, focusing on the mutual respect and love that you share. By putting the relationship first, you open up the possibility for a more constructive conversation that can lead to compromise, empathy, and understanding.

Your dialogue might shift from "I always do more chores than you" to "I've been feeling overwhelmed lately and could really use more help around the house. Can we find a more balanced solution that works for both of us?"

By asking "What is the most important thing?", you've turned a potential argument into an opportunity for improved communication and deepening of your relationship.

This is the value of understanding what is important. Maybe you found that one of your highest values is harmony in relationships. Knowing this has lead you to take the choice that feels harder to make in the moment. Eventually this will become a habit in the relationship, people will marvel at how well you get along.

Take a moment to consider those in your life who have particularly high integrity. Thinking back on my life I would put the teacher I mentioned earlier up there.

Her ability to give me blunt criticism in the name of inspiring me to do better is admirable. Many others would not see it as worth the effort to take the time out of their busy day to offer me advice. But she did, she was no millionaire entrepreneur building schools in impoverished countries. But local papers celebrated her for the way she handled problematic children. She garnered the respect of everyone around her because she was powerful. The gap between her true self and ideal self was miniscule, this is what I define as integrity.

Integrity is the mark of a strong character, someone who has spent years cultivating values and virtues. The fruits of such a life are peace of mind, immense freedom and serenity. This is a rare kind of person because they have endured the challenges of living in allignment with their values. This is because on a deep level they have recognised their true values. They know deep in their heart, nothing is worth more than living in alignment with them.

When we meet someone like this we have a high level of respect for them. We can tell they don't care for petty opinions and selfish concerns

Although character development may not be the most glamerous aspect of visioning; knowing the kind of person you want to be is paramount. It trickles down into every other aspect of life.

Imagine you were sailing, you don't need to generate the forward motion, its already there. Your job is to align with the force of the wind.

This is where the vast majority of people get stuck.

They wonder why they can't find the motivation to work towards their goals but the truth is that they don't even know what their goals should be. Once you know what it is you truly want, there will be no doubt in your mind. You will feel it deep within your heart.

Deep within your heart is the well of energy and motivation that people long for.

When we don't look withtin to find our true motivation we drift. We get stuck looking for cheap pleasures because facing the pain of our problems is too much. Most people will be stuck like this for years, decades or even all their life. When it's put into perspective like this, suddenly a little time spent finding your intention doesn't seem like so much work.

There is an important distinction between goals and values. If we imagine life as a journey, values are the direction we want to travel in, whereas goals are the destinations. Values have much more consistency in our lives, whereas goals change constantly.

Many people get it mixed up. They think they know their values, but in reality they are just goals. Having a loving relationship is a goal, relating lovingly is a value. The important thing to note is that we can realign with our values at any point, just by changing the way we are acting. Goals work well as motivators and ways to measure if we are making progress, but getting attatched to them is beside the point. What we truly want is a new way of being which can only happen now.

Example: Living an abundant lifestyle is a goal, living abundantly is a value.

What does it mean to live abundatly?

- giving to those who need it

- not acting needy with money

- not acting from lack

How might you live abundantly?

- give what you can (this doesn't have to mean money)

- be there for others

- considering what people need that you have an abundance of

This is the true way to an abundant lifestyle, it happens now. When I first started web development, I helped people do things for free. I did whatever I could to spread compassion--exentuating the feeling of abundance I felt inside.

Goals are great too! Have a vision of your future where you have even more to give, imagine the feelings of sharing wealth with those closest to you. Hold these feelings close. Just don't mistake goals for the true value.

We like to think we have control over the way we chose to live.

"I'm just living my life man!" - I hear this all the time and it makes me laugh. The truth is we chose very little. We are victims of our past conditioning.

When we are young our mind is extremly impressionable. Our mind are like wet clay as we observe the world, impressions are moulded into this clay and it begins to take shape. As we grow older, the clay begins to harden. It gets harder and harder to make any new impressions and the impressions made when we were young stay.

This isn't necissarily bad, we need some consistency in assumptions to function... Imagine having to relearn how to tie your shoes every morning, or rediscover gravity every time you drop a pen (if you've ever done psychadelics you may know what this feels like). The knowledge and patterns we've established in our youth serve as crucial building blocks for our understanding of the world.

However, the challenge lies in discerning when these impressions and assumptions hold us back from fresh perspectives and new growth. This requires only two conditions.

1. We decide consciously, through deep inquiry, what matters most to us.

2. We maintain enough awareness to break old patterns and instead chose to live in a new way.

The second condition is the where the most challenge is. It hurts to go against the conditioning of our minds. When we get into a tense moment with our partner our body is screaming at us to express our rage! Express how much they've hurt us, how unfair it is what they're doing. But if we've chosen to value to relate with understanding, we must go against that feeling, calm down and go against our feelings. We choose stop and listen to our partner, we choose to make them feel understood. Because we have decided in the long run we want mutual understanding, and we must be the first to make that step.

We can think of our brains like a field of grass... The routes taken in our brain over and over create a well defined path. When we live on autopilot this is the path we take. But when we've decided that path isn't the one we want to take anymore, it takes a lot of effort to create a new path. But it's very possible.

The vision guides the new frontier. When we decide we want to travel a new path, the vision guides us like the north star. This is the motivating force that will inspire us to make a difficult change.

Earlier, I mentioned the smoker who would only quit cigarettes when concidering his child's future. The emotionally charged nature of seeing his child grow up inspired him to do better. I describe this as a north star. When it comes time to make the decision the mix of awareness and a meaningful vision is what allows us to change. Let's discuss how to practically atain both.

There are countless methods, I will simply be listing what has worked best for me.

1. Thought identification--sit for a while with the intention of simply identifying what is a thought. You will notice that many thoughts come without your awareness. Great. This means you have become aware of something you were previously unaware of. This practice helps with mental clarity. Some thoughts may be vague notions, some clear and obvious. It's important to note we are not trying to get rid of thoughts.

2. Body awareness--this can be a daily practice or a habit of becoming more aware of your body. Generally when we are reacting, our body will tense up in places. Your fists tense up with anget, legs with insecurity, chest with fear. People seem to have chronic forehead tensing these days. Stop and see where your attnetion intuitively goes to in your body, rest attention.

3. Listen to frequencies that enduce lower frequency brain waves. The reason we are more suggestible when we are younger is because of the lower frequency brain waves we have. These lower brainwaves relax us into a more fluid state, the rewiring of our brains becomes easier. This happens primarily in sleep (which is why sleep is so important). Most meditative practices help slow brainwaves but in particular listening to binaural beats, body awareness and certain breathworks help.

4. Supplements--lionsmaine has been shown to increase neuroplasticity, I believe its effects are mostly subconscious but very real. Ashwagandha helps you sleep easier and deeper, and achieve more mental calm throghout the day.

5. Rest!--don't overwork yourself. When you begin to slow down, lost flow and focus it's a good idea just to relax and have a walk. Having nothing to do is deeply important.

- Intrinsically motivating--the values that make up our vision must be have an explanation of "just 'cause". I value a freely lived life becuase that's just what I want. Extrinsically motivating reasons are only motivating because they lead to something else.

- Flexible--it should be adaptable to the changing circumstances that life inevitably brings. A rigid vision may lead to disappointment. Allign to the direction of your values rather than the specific destination of your goals.

- Clear and specific--it's important that our vision is clearly defined. Vague visions lead to ambiguity and confusion, and it becomes hard to reach them.

- Enduring--a good vision stands the test of time. It may be refined and adapted along the way but its essence remains (this is the power of values).

- Positive and uplifting--a vision is what we want to move towards, not what we want to move away from.

- Action oriented--while a vision is a picture of the future, it should encourage immediate actions. It should include clear steps or milestones that indicate progress.

- Incorporates others--a meaningful vision will impact the world around us! It isn't only focused on our personal ambitions.

- Consistently revisited--as we grow and evolve, our vision may be refined or adjusted. Regularly revisiting and reflecting on our vision ensures that it continues to be meaningful and exciting.

I want to wrap this up with the most important take aways.

- Always ask "what is important?" and "what can I do now to live in alignment with what is important?"

- Journal! Write your thoughts, get clarity on your vision, be specific and make it actionable.

- Stay aware of your current situation, be careful of your reactivity. Remember you want to rewrite how you think for a new life direction.

- Without vision there is only the aversion to pain and the seeking of selfish meaningless pleasures. The only place this leads is addiction and depression.

Take control of your life, put yourself in the drivers seat. You are your manager and leader, this is what it means to be mature.

Thanks for reading.

- Jarvis