As the end of the year approaches, I imagine you might be thinking about your goals and what you'll focus on in the new year. 

Before you define your goals, consider this question - do you want the lifestyle associated with your goals or just the experience? By differentiating between the two, you may find yourself achieving your goals faster than you thought possible.

 Here's an example: I wanted a lake house up until last year. I've always loved the idea of living by the lake or the beach. For a long time I thought I wanted a condo or home right off of the water. For that, I thought I needed to save (or make) a ton of money to one day own a lake house. Then I bought a van and a year later I lived by the lake.  It cost me less than $30,000 and with that same money I got to live in the mountains AND on the beach. 

The difference between lifestyle and experience.

You see, there is a difference between creating a lifestyle and creating experiences. Most of us are getting that wrong. As a result, we get tied down in the wrong lifestyle and truly believe the life we want is years and years away.

Lifestyle breeds ownership. Experiences are just options.  

Being a lake house owner is a lifestyle. Living by the lake is an experience.

After that experience, I realized that I don't want to own a house by the lake that requires a mortgage and significant amounts of upkeep, but I do want to have the ability to live by the lake.

How I choose to operate my life changes significantly with that insight. The lifestyle of owning a lake house probably would have required me to continue working at a 9-to-5. Choosing to experience living by the lake (and other places) confirmed I could quit and instead own a van that offers me a lifestyle where I can work from anywhere and travel as I please. 

If you want to create an authentic + aligned life, you must first define the lifestyle you desire to create. Without that definition, you'll find yourself owning a life you don't truly desire to lead.

How can you apply this?

What lifestyle goals would serve you better as experiences? 

What can you achieve in the next few months that perspective?