A Life-Changing One-Minute Audit
Article Title: A Life-Changing One-Minute Audit Author Name: Doug C. Grant Contact Email Address: doug @dougcgrant.com Word Count: 859
Category: Motivational/Inspirational Copyright Date: 2002
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A LIFE-CHANGING ONE-MINUTE AUDIT
by Doug C. Grant
You've got to use this audit to believe it. The darn thing really works. And it's free.
You can take one of those psycobabble type audits with a ton of personal questions and complicated scoring systems. But you'll still end up with essentially the same results on the bottom line.
IT ALL STARTS WITH YOU'RE HERE AND NOW
To know where you want to go you must first know where you are. In other words, you can't get from here to there if you don't know where 'here' is.
Most Life Audits attempt to establish the 'here' by having you answer a battery of personal questions. But unless you have a severe emotional problem best left to a professional...or you prefer living in a total state of denial...your knower already knows where you are right now.
For example, if money is in short supply in your life and it's a source of unhappiness, you know it. You may prefer pretending otherwise, but once you get past the fantasy you realize there is an uncomfortable hole in your pocket. You can answer a thousand questions and chart the answers on a complicated scoring system but the bottom line will still come out the same. You ain't as rich as you'd like to be.
HERE'S HOW THE ONE-MINUTE LIFE AUDIT WORKS
It forces you to look at major areas of your life and ask yourself, "Does this particular area add to or subtract from my happiness?" Then you track your answers on a simple scoring page you can download free off the Empowered Maturity web site.
Simple? Of course. Effective? Absolutely. Unless you insist on thinking that something black is actually white.
It's all so deceptively easy that you may be tempted to label it too childish. But remember, the really great truths of life are dirt simple. It's when intellectualized that they become complicated.
For example, in the Bible there was a commander of a great army who was told by God's prophet to wash in the Jordan seven times to be healed of leprosy. (2 Kings 5) At first he refused because the process was too simple. He wanted ceremony and hand waving. But when finally convinced that simple would work, he was healed.
HOW TO GET YOUR ONE-MINUTE LIFE AUDIT...FREE
Go to the Empowered Maturity web site at http://www.dougcgrant.com. Click the Site Map in the left- hand panel and
move down the Site Map to the link 'Life Audit'. This is a PDF (Acrobat Reader file) It's free. Print it out. There's no obligation. You won't even be added to a mailing list unless you subscribe to the bi- monthly Empowered Maturity Page.
Start at the top of your scoring sheet and work your way down through all major areas that apply to your life. At each stop ask yourself, "Does this area add to or subtract from my happiness?" Record your answer by drawing an 'X' through whichever expression, smile or frown, that doesn't apply. For example, if your job contributes to your happiness, 'X' out the frown and leave the smile.
Remember, don't try and analyze, hedge or complicate your answers. You can say to yourself, "Well, some days my job contributes to my happiness and some days it doesn't." That's true of all of us. But you know without fudging whether your job is adding to or subtracting from your happiness on an overall basis. Put down the answer that feels right. It will almost always be on target.
When you've finished the audit, add up your smiles and frowns. Bingo. You have an instant picture of your life...happy or not.
You could use a far more complicated audit with a lot of personal type questions. But I can almost guarantee the bottom line will still come out the same.
But there's more. The audit will also quickly point out areas in your life that could use some smile work. If you're as smart as I think you are, you'll start planning activities and setting goals to turn those frowns around.
PRINT OR DUPLICATE EXTRA COPIES
Take the Life Audit now. Remember, it only involves about one-minute. Date the sheet.
Mark your calendar for a follow-up audit in three months. If you've been persistent in working on your goals, you'll be pleased to find that some frowns have become smiles. Of course, as sometimes happens, you may also find that some smiles have become frowns. That's life and that's why a quarterly audit is so important. And with the One-Minute Audit you have no excuse for not taking it. The audit is too simple and fast.
Do yourself an enormous favor. Print out and take the One- Minute Happiness Audit right now. It might well turn out to be one of the most important minutes of your life.
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Get more facts, techniques and information about living healthier, happier and being more productive. Subscribe Free to Doug C. Grant's bi-monthly e- zine, THE EMPOWERED MATURITY PAGE. It's directed toward the over 50 Crowd but good reading for anyone wanting to boost their life up a notch or two. Subscribe at: mailto:empoweredpage@smartautoresponder.com
Doug C. Grant retired from a successful career as a nationally recognized business writer & marketing consultant. He now helps members of the 'Over-50', crowd (or any age) live healthier, happier and more productive lives throughhis Empowered Maturity Web Site (http://www.dougcgrant.com) and an on-line interactive seminar.
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