The one thing I do every year on 8th August that's changed my life

0:28Hey, it's Adam Grant from WorkLife, a podcast from TED. software, you'll work smarter, not harder. Freshworks uncomplicates. Learn more at Freshworks.com.

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1:43What is up? I'm Grace Beverly and welcome back to Working Hard, the podcast-shaped guidebook on how to improve your own life and achieve what you actually dreamed of doing, because life's too short for boring podcasts and bad advice.

1:57What is up guys and welcome back to working hard it's time for another thursday bonus episode and I really hope you're listening to this on the day it goes live because today is the 7th of august and tomorrow is the 8th of august and no i'm not just telling you the date this is actually very very relevant to today's episode so if you subscribe to the working hard newsletter you'll have heard me speak about this but today we are getting into the one exercise that i do every year that has truly changed my life both how i set goals but also how i reach goals i would say so let's get into it because this is important and you need to clear some time in your diary to do it on August 8th.

2:26So first things first, I want to start by saying that I do not generally identify as woo-woo and I've said this a lot on the podcast before and I don't mean to say that in any way to discount different things that different people believe in. I think it's just important context when looking at how I approach something like this. So I'm generally not a super spiritual person. I don't know, I typically haven't responded like that well to manifesting type content in the past. I'm definitely quite a big realist and I think that manifesting is hugely, hugely helpful but I think the type of manifesting that is hugely helpful is manifesting that is backed by you actually taking action and putting yourself in the right headspace to be taking the right action, et cetera, et cetera.

3:00Like I do not believe in a type of manifesting that's just like wishing on a star. So all that is to say that though this episode is going to mention like portals and manifesting, as I said, I'm just like not someone who's naturally believed in manifesting in terms of what I actually thought it was. And then this is actually what I first tried that I didn't really realize was a form of manifestation and got me into what I now know is actually manifestation, which I don't do that regularly, but I do do this every single year. And I do believe, I don't know, if you listen to our Roxy Nafusi episodes, particularly the one from January this year, I do think so much of that is so like process-based and incredibly helpful just in terms of exercises.

3:38Like whether you are spiritual or aren't, or whether you're just a goal setter, like it's just great goal setting. And it's generally really, really useful exercises that just help you understand what your goals are and help you understand whether you are even in the position to be having those goals. So if you are also a manifesting skeptic, bear with me. I promise you this will be worth it. And if you already know that manifesting works for you, then you're not going to be doubting this at all. But I do want to say that because I do think that it's important to hear the context that I come into this with so that you can decide what serves you, what doesn't serve you, etc, etc.

4:07So let me start dancing around it and I will tell you what I actually do.

4:19To set the scene, I feel like we need like fairy tale music here. According to astrology, August 8th is the date of the opening of the Lionsgate portal. As I said, please bear with me here. This is basically an astrological event where the star Sirius aligns with Earth and Orion's belt. And this is all from me doing the Googles. This is not essential to this task. and I don't just know this off the top of my head, but this is the context. This is what's happening. If you're someone who's into manifesting in astrology, you'll know that means that it's basically the most powerful day for harnessing your dreams in the calendar.

4:48I'm probably not explaining it correctly as I'm not clued up on astrology at all, but what I'm getting from this is that if you're going to manifest for one day of the year, August 8th seems to be the day to do it. That being said, I think this is an incredibly helpful exercise to do at any time. I just know that on August 8th, two years ago, maybe even three years ago, I did this and every single thing in it came true. And I think for me, I would put that down to the fact that I actually spent time really thinking of what I wanted to achieve in that time and what I wanted my life to be like. And that actually made me wake up in a lot of ways in terms of, okay, well, what do you actually need to do to get there?

5:23So as I said, every year on August the 8th, for the last three years, I'm pretty sure I've done the exact same thing. It was recommended to me on TikTok, like most things unfortunately to be honest I would love to sound more intellectual but I'm just a girl and I genuinely think it has given me so much clarity on what I want in life. So this is what's happening this is the process this is the task I open up my notes page or a page of my planner I actually much prefer to do this handwritten it's harder to find the next year I literally need to root mine out today but I do think it's a really great exercise but then what I do is I write a diary entry for August 8th next year.

5:55So August 8th, 2026, I will write that in the present tense. So as if it is already happening. You kind of need to get into the details. So like where you're waking up, who you're waking up next to. You might go into what you're eating, where you're working, what does your day look like? What's your workday look like? How do you feel during the day? Who are you seeing after work? Are you going to the gym? Where are you going to bed? And I do some of those things to set the scene but then what I really go into is I set out a few different categories and I make sure I talk about them I'll probably do a paragraph on each of them so one paragraph on finances one paragraph on my house and where I'm living one paragraph on my job and what it looks like and how it feels like and what my title is how much I'm earning like any big milestones that I've reached in the past year I'll literally say like oh my god I can't believe that blah blah came on the podcast and things like so happy about the fact that I earned blah blah last month or whatever it might be like it's all in the present tense and it's all these essential things I'll also do a paragraph on my relationship I'll do a paragraph on my friendships I'll do a paragraph on things that are important to me it's all in the present tense and it needs to represent how you would actually write a diary entry but it's almost like you could also see it as like a letter that you're writing to someone about your life because it's not just today this happened it's writing in detail about things like finances relationships work ambition how I'm generally feeling like I think a lot of my last year and I said I need to root it out again but I think a lot of my last year was about feeling and like how I was feeling at work and how much more headspace I had and how much less stressed I was and how much more sure of myself I was and all of those things writing that in the present tense when I wasn't feeling that at all really put me into the headspace when I was like oh this is clearly one of my biggest desires at the moment that I probably wouldn't have pinpointed otherwise.

7:47I will say mine is usually a good few pages long. You could do it a lot quicker. You could even bullet point it if you want to but I do think like I get the most out of it when doing it for a good few pages as if I was writing like a long letter about my own life to someone. But that is basically it. That's all I do and it might sound simple but I don't know why when I first saw the TikTok that suggested doing it all those years ago it was actually three years ago I can remember now actually I know it was three years ago because I'd already been on a first date with my fiance he lived in New York at the time so it was about two months before that I'd been on a first date so I didn't in my head know like oh this is going to be a serious relationship but I wrote this whole diary entry essentially for the year after and it talked about my relationship and the things that were important to us and the interactions that we had and what we kind of talked about and what we wanted for our future and all of those things.

8:37And I also talked so much about my finances and specific amounts I was earning and specific jobs I was doing and specific people that were coming on the podcast and all of these different things that were my goals. Pretty much every single thing came true that was in that diary entry. And I don't think I would have even pinpointed many of the things that I would have wanted to change. As I said, last year's one, I spoke a lot about how I wanted my life to feel in a way that I don't think at the time I could have told you that it was feeling so bad. Whereas actually now I know that I was so far from the type of life I wanted to be living.

9:11Yes, I was earning well, and I was kind of happy in a lot of things to do with work. But I really wasn't happy with how my days were feeling and how burnt out I was constantly feeling and how stretched to within an inch of my life I was constantly feeling. And I don't think I would have noticed half of those things had I not actually done this exercise. The market's uncertain. Revenue's tight and hiring on hold. That's why results-driven companies are using Upwork to keep work moving. Go to Upwork.com today and start hiring proven freelance talent fast. No bulky overhead, no rigid long-term contracts, just the right expert right when you need them.

9:49Work smarter and faster with Upwork. Go to Upwork.com now and find your freelance expert. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com. Post a job for free and get started today. What's up? Grace from the Working Hour Podcast here and I want to tell you about something exciting. You're watching every dollar and Walmart business helps you stretch each one. From office supplies to snacks and cleaning gear, you'll get everyday low prices plus easy bulk ordering and fast delivery. And with tools like spend tracking and multi-user accounts, staying organized is simple. Save time, money and hassle at business.walmart.com.

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10:40This, but I guess the reason why this practice is so special to me is because it couldn't be further from the type of manifesting that I don't typically find works for me. I don't love the idea of like manifesting a million pounds without doing anything to get you there, but also without outlining what your life looks like to even get you into that position. like manifesting a million pounds it's like okay what about manifesting the type of work the type of business that you're going to do to get there the type of lifestyle you're going to live the type of discipline you're going to have all of these different things like what does your routine look like all of these different things that we often forget to put in and we're just concentrated on the end goal this exercise really makes you think of the journey because i think you would start to put some things in there or i definitely start to put some things in there and then i realize i can't have all of these things at once so i start prioritizing and it starts allowing me to see what type of life I actually do want and how I'm going to get there.

11:31And writing in the present tense as a diary entry really forces you to make connections between this life that you live right now and what you want it to look like in a year. I think a lot of people, when you start to write this diary entry, you'll start to realise, actually, this day I'm writing out is so different from the type of day I'm living now. So it starts to contextualise, okay, well, these are all the things that I need to change to get me even close to doing what I want to do. And I think it helps you to not lose sight of what's actually possible but within the confines of your responsibilities and your dependencies like you're not going to be writing this whole diary entry and it's just like well try not to write this diary entry in a way that's like years and years different from your current lifestyle yes dream big but what do you actually think you can achieve in a year and it can be a lot like a lot of it was more stuff than I possibly thought I could but it wasn't oh I want to suddenly have 10 properties and I want to do this this and this because it just it's not feasible it's not where I am it's not what I'm concentrating on I can't do that and also enjoy the nice holidays I want to enjoy and enjoy I don't know whatever it might be it really forces you to be specific about what you want and you might have a dream like I want to work in London on a salary that feels comfortable and I can live in my own apartment but being so specific in the diary entry forces you to realize okay well what industry are you likely to work in that's going to give you that salary and what type of work do you actually want and what salary is your actual expectation if you want to be living on your own all of these different things or you might think like i want to do this very hard challenge like a marathon or a big work project but when you write the diary entry of you actually doing the training or working 12 hours every day you might also realize it's not actually what your dream life looks like and i think that's what's so important because it puts you into this headspace where you're actually forced to realize the reality around the type of life you want to build and it really helps to contextualize and be a bit more realistic but be realistic in an ambitious way where you can then actually make that happen and one thing i will always remember is when i spoke to psychologist john amici about this on the podcast nearly two years ago now and he actually explained the science behind why it actually works using the example of sci-fi novels so i'm going to put that clip in here now my head always does a little like where's the science in this and so but there's really good science in this right the idea that if you can visualize beyond a number what you want in the future because i think many people when they manifest what they're doing is picking a number right instead of thinking what is this there's a there's a term in science fiction uh called a future history and it creates this picture of the future that is so vivid that it's as if the author has been there and witnessed it and is telling you about what they saw so it's not thin it's not just there is a pill there is a flying car it's vivid and rich and if people can create that vivid and rich picture of what their life is, then they can work backwards and say, what needs to be true for that to happen?

14:22To your point, what are the things around me right now that aren't helping me get there? But also what additionally might I need to do or shift in order to get to that picture of the future? So I think that's so true. And I think you've just explained it in a far better way than I had. The reason I think that is kind of so true. And the reason that resonates with me so strongly is because actually the only form of manifestation that I do and that I found really, really useful is exactly that. It's writing a current diary entry or a diary entry in the present, but for the future. So say it would be today, it would be the 2nd of February, 2025.

14:59And I'd be writing about my current life, my current achievements, my current situation. And what that always highlights to me is actually that can't happen because then all of these things would have to happen and actually those things are things that I don't want which I think is a really helpful tool in kind of being able to take away the idealization of what you want and actually being able to realize okay as you say like brilliance comes with being mundane and brilliance comes with like monotony and needing to be really kind of repetitive in a number of things and actually then if I looked at my next year and thinking I actually don't want to do that every single day to me that's always been so helpful or a professional bio a year in the future I often do that so it's kind of like you know Grace Beverly has done this this and this she's you know well known for doing this and I'll do that for like five years in the future that to me is one of the most powerful things not necessarily of manifestation but of kind of I don't know placing yourself in the future and allowing yourself to kind of not just reverse engineer what that would have to look like like could i do these 20 things no but i could probably do these three yes it's also a reward right the the idea that your your bio will be not flattering but certainly will be more than who you are now so there's a way of you're going to do all this hard work to do something incredibly difficult so you might as well reward yourself by at least giving yourself that wonderfully vivid picture of what it's like so you can kind of bask in the enjoyment of it while you know what you're in for right to get there some some slog some boredom some challenge some conflict but you can still see this picture you see this a lot with people they fail because their image of what they want for the future is either wildly unrealistic as in it's not really even science fiction it's it's a fantasy beyond that or there's nothing to grab hold of because it's a number i want to make a million pounds i want to i don't know there's a postcode you want to live in and it's just not enough to drag you through the tough stuff that you need to do to get there right absolutely it has to be stronger and it has to be more of a micro look at things as well like here are the five things that would actually even get to that point rather than just like wishing on a star with that when your mind is is sore from your efforts and you are trying to get off to sleep you need more than just a cold number to grant you a bit of recuperation.

17:30You need to close your eyes and see that image of the future, that five year from now bio. I love that idea. You need that. Otherwise, it's just too hard a slog for many people. I feel like he explains it so clearly and it just shows how much of this is backed by science. It's basically just effective goal setting with some fierce contextualization that is so important for getting you to actually not just dream big, but dream contextually and correctly in a way that you can then make actionable steps to actually get there. But that is it. I'm taking a risk releasing this on the 7th of August when some of you might miss it.

18:02So if you're listening to this episode in the first couple of days of release, send it to your friends. I feel like I'm a one woman PR team for the 8th of August at this point, but I just think it made such a big difference to my life as someone who these things don't often make that big a difference. Like I'm always goal setting, so I wouldn't have expected you could change my view on goal setting. So late into my life, she says as an old woman, but genuinely I'm pretty stuck in my ways when it comes to planning and goal setting and this has actually changed a lot for me so I'm hoping it could do the same for you and your friends but I hope you have a really good week and I will see you for another episode on Monday

18:38what's up grace from the working how podcast here and I want to tell you about something exciting you're watching every dollar and walmart business helps you stretch each one from office supplies to snacks and cleaning gear, you'll get everyday low prices, plus easy bulk ordering and fast delivery. And with tools like spend tracking and multi-user accounts, staying organized is simple. Save time, money, and hassle at business.walmart.com. It's free to sign up. Is it time to reimagine your future? The right business skills may make a difference in your career. At Capella University, we offer a relevant education that's designed to focus on what you need to know in the business world.

19:13We'll teach professional skills to help you pursue your goals like business management, strategic planning, and effective communication. And you can apply these skills right away. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at capella.edu.