Time-honored practices and mental exercises to help you be your best self.

1. Map out your future

Just as every building begins with a blueprint and every bulls-eye starts with a target, a purposeful life begins with intention.

Setting goals can feel scary since it sets us up for the possibility of experiencing failure. But it’s almost impossible to succeed without envisioning your goals and creating an actionable plan to achieve them.

Try this mental exercise: Set aside 10 minutes to envision your ideal life.

What do you want it to look like one year from now? Ten years from now? What le...