Over the past three days, you have reflected upon the last year, created a list of your core values, and have revealed  how balanced you are in your life. Today we’re going to explore why you are here.

Stephen Covey, the author of several "7 Habits" books, writes in "First Things First", writes about how humans have four fundamental needs to feel complete. They are:

1. Physical – our basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, health and economic well-being.
2. Social – our need to relate to others, to love, be loved, and to belong.
3. Mental - our need to continue learning to develop and grow.
4. Spiritual – our need to have a sense of meaning, purpose, contribution and personal congruence or alignment.

In a simple sentence, Covey says the "essence of these needs is captured in the phrase ‘to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy’."

This is another facet of looking at the whole picture of our lives. Yesterday you got to see how balanced you were in specific areas of your life. The model that I’m now presenting melds those areas into these four facets of our basic needs. Stephen Covey goes on to explain in his book that when we are able to view these needs in a way that overlaps, as demonstrated here, we can see how they interrelate. In order to feel fulfilled and joyful in our lives, we must take care of ourselves in all areas of our lives. When one area suffers, it affects the whole.

Do you see the section in the middle that is red? This is called "The Fire Within". Covey explains, "Fulfilling the four needs in an integrated way is like combining elements in chemistry. When we reach a ‘critical mass’ of integration, we experience spontaneous combustion–an explosion of inner synergy that ignites the fire within and gives vision, passion, and a spirit of adventure to life.

The key to the fire within is our spiritual need to leave a legacy. It transforms other needs into capacities for contribution. Food, money, health, education, and love become resources to reach out and help fill the unmet needs of others."

Exercise:

Think about a time in your life when you felt really alive. Answer these questions:

• What was going on in your life at that time?
• Who were the people in your life?
• Were your basic needs being met?
• Were you mentally stimulated?
• Were you doing something meaningful?
• Would you say that all your four fundamental needs were met in that moment, and that what you felt was a Fire Within?

I want to sit with this memory for a while, and when you’re ready, answer the following questions. You may want to do this with a friend or partner.

• How would it feel if you could live your life from day-to-day, feeling this Fire Within?
• Picture yourself at the end of 2009, and you are living life with this Fire Within. Close your eyes with you feet flat on the ground, and really feel this Fire. Where are you? What are you doing? Who are you with? How do you look? Where is your family? What does your business look like? How much money is flowing directly to you? Who have you become?

Now, I’d like to think about what you need to do to get from where you right now, today, to where you are at the end of 2009:

• What do you need to take care of your physical needs of food, clothing, shelter, health and economic well-being?
• What do you need to take care with your relationships? Are you willing to let go of relationships that are draining your energy? What can you do to actively nurture the relationships that mean the most to you? Are there people in particular or a group of people with whom you’d like to create relationships with? How will you do that?
• What do you need to learn in the next year to become more effective in your work and your life? What new skills do you want to learn, and what skills do you want to improve? Do you have certifications to complete? Workshops that you’d like to take? Do you want to learn more about business, or becoming a better parent, or something as fun as art, music or gardening classes?
• What activities inspire you? What centers and grounds you? What actions can you take on a regular basis that calm you, give you joy, and allows you to lose track of time?

Working on your doula practice means working on your life. When you feel mostly joyful in your life (let’s be realisitic — we all have bad days now and again!), your work will flow more easily for you. Your life will flow more easily for you. When all your fundamental needs are cared for, you have the energy, or the Fire Within, to serve others more fully. You will feel less like you’re beating against a wall and more like everything is falling into place.

The exercise you’ve just completed are the goals you will take to live your best life in 2009. What do you think about that? Send me an email, make a comment below, or Tweet me @savvydoula.

Join me tomorrow and we’ll explore more deeply into ways to accomplish the goals you’ve just set for 2009. Have a great day!

Tags: doula business, doula business tips, first things first, goal setting, life coaching, stephen covey, Values-Based Business

Other Savvy Posts You May Enjoy:

1. Day 7 of Reorganize Your Doula Biz for ‘09 – Incorporating the Big Rocks Into Your Life
2. Day 3 of Reorganize Your Doula Biz for ‘09 – How balanced are the various areas of your life?
3. Day 21 of Reorganize Your Doula Biz for ‘09 – Where Do You Fall Short and What To Do About It
4. Day 16 of Reorganize Your Doula Biz – Do I Need to Get Malpractice Insurance for My Doula Practice?
5. Day 2 of Reorganize Your Doula Biz for ‘09 – What Are Your Most Important Values?