So, the hoopla of New Year celebrations and resolutions is over. Most of us are back in the groove of our habits and probably just relieved that we made it through January. Lately, everyone I’m encountering seems to be feeling fatigued and a bit overwhelmed by everything going on in the world and in their own lives.
Heading into milder weather with the promise of sunnier days is a good time to pause, take a breath and reflect about what you really want out of 2017. It is not too late to start the year over. The next series of blogs will focus on taking you through my 5 Stage Model to Transform Your Ideas into Action.
Stage 1 is clarifying what is most important to you to experience work and life satisfaction in 2017. What is your intention for 2017? What do you want this part of your story to be about? We live busy lives and, for many of us, finding time to ponder what we want from life seems like a luxury we can’t afford. We may look at this pondering as a waste of our valuable time – or only a distraction from the other things we have jammed on our “to do” lists.
But if we are not clear on what we want we end up going wherever work and life take us. We could end up anywhere or everywhere. We lose track of our intentions, and we get caught up in reacting. We are easily influenced by what other people think about what we should be doing. We fail to make the changes that are within our control. We let ourselves down.
Not knowing what we want makes it hard to say “no” to others and to set boundaries. It is tougher to say “no” to opportunities that look good on paper but don’t actually fit with what will make us happy. We aren’t as strategic about how we spend our time and energy when our personal visions aren’t clear.
What do you want to say YES to in 2017? Your self-awareness is your anchor for everything. We need a reason to say no and we need to know why. You need a way to verify that your choices are serving what you really want now and in the future. How can we prioritize ourselves when we are not connected to what is most important for ourselves?
Goals give us purpose in life. We just need to make sure our goals are aligned with our personal vision of success. The critical reflective questions become: Who do we want to be? What do we want to do? What do we want to have? It all begins with thinking about what you really want to be, to do and to have in your work and life in 2017.
I invite you to make an investment in yourself by creating space in your schedule for some reflective time and writing. Find a quiet spot where you won’t be interrupted for one hour and take the time to answer the following questions.
- Imagine this is New Year’s Eve 2017. You are looking back on this year with pride and satisfaction. What thoughts and images are coming to mind as your successes, accomplishments and what you are most grateful for in 2017?
- By the end of 2017….I want to BE……..I want to DO………….I want to HAVE…
- If there was one CHANGE you could make over the next six months that would make the biggest difference to your work and life satisfaction, what would it be?
Next blog will focus on Stage 2 – Commit. Narrowing down your ideas and moving from to move from “want to do” to “will do”.
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