HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
The beginning of a new year is always an opportunity to choose to start something anew, to freshen up our perspective, polish up our resolve, and choose to try new things in the pursuit of the joyful, rewarding and healthy life we all want. There is so much I want to share that would empower and boost you for the new year, so here are two ideas to begin with:
1. Looking Back
Every year, every experience, even the more challenging ones, can be made valuable and worthwhile if we make a point of searching for and extracting the value, the gifts, the lessons that are hiding therein.
We can do it by taking one last close look at what happened last year and identifying the things that have added value to our lives in some way, strengthened us in some way, or made us rejoice or grow in some way, so we can hold on to them. Perhaps it was a new connection we made or a new appreciation we found for an old one; a new insight that freed us to see things differently; a new pursuit we embarked on, something we did that made us proud of ourselves, or an amazing experience that gave us a sense of awe, or ahh.
So don’t let this one (2023) disappear into the pages of history untapped, without finding out what value and gifts it has added to your life! There are gifts to be found in even the tough places. And in the mundane ones. Insisting on finding them is what makes any experience worthwhile.
Here are a three questions you can ask yourself to help you discover the gifts that this past year has left at your door:
What was the best thing that you experienced in 2023?
What was the most important lesson that you learned this year?
What was it that helped you overcome the challenges that you faced this year?
2. Looking Forward
We all have goals we want to achieve in order to feel happy and fulfilled, yet time and energy are often in short supply and distractions are everywhere. I’ve found that what really helps me use my time and energy wisely is a simple two-prong system: First, having my big goals in front of me daily, and second, committing to doing my best to ensure that what I choose to use my time and energy on relates in some fashion or form to one of those goals.
This really isn’t as big an undertaking as it may sound. It is, in fact, a simple thing to do, with disproportionate rewards. All it takes is a bit of clarity and a bit of intention.
The Clarity part: What is most important to me at this point in life? How do I get there?
Take a few minutes to consider what is important for you to focus on in the coming year. I’m not talking about making “resolutions” here or setting very specific goals (though it could be) but more about identifying the areas of life you really want to pay more attention to, or create some change in, during the coming year. Identify and write down the 2-3 most important ones.
Next to each, list a few examples of what things, activities or experiences would move you in the direction you want to go. You are not committing to doing any of them, you’re just giving yourself some ideas and giving meaning to those activities or experiences . Here, for example, are some of mine:
Physical health and wellbeing (exercise, nutrition, water, and sleep)
Mental peace (Journal, meditation, relaxing music, creative pursuits)
Professional development and success (write blogs, offer workshops, share info about what I do, study)
A full and content heart (love, relationships, time with friends)
Knowing what you really want to gain by shooting for the goals you set gives you added motivation. So to charge your list with more motivating power, think of what it is you are ultimately seeking (hint: It’s a feeling or an experience) by setting these goals, and write it down with your list. For example, in my journal I wrote the following: “These are the things that will make me truly happy, enable me to enjoy my life deeply and feel it has meaning, feel my worth, and feel actualized and fulfilled.”
Place the list where you will see it every day. I put mine in the front of my journal where I go to plan my days. It could be on your desk or desktop, the bathroom mirror or the little table by your favorite perch, anywhere you will encounter it regularly.
The Intention part: Does this activity move me in some way toward one of my goals? Does it support one of the areas of life I want to focus on?
The second part of the strategy is the commitment to pay attention and strive to make choices about how you spend your time and energy with those goals and key areas in mind. I’m not proposing you make an unrealistic (i.e. pointless) commitment to never do anything that doesn’t further your goals!... (eye roll…smile…) What I’m suggesting is that you do your best to be intentional about it. Your best will be different from day to day, and that is perfectly fine!
Whenever you ponder how to allocate your precious time, or whether to do something or not, use your list of goals and key areas as a guide and a reminder of what is worth spending time on and what isn’t. Just asking ‘will this contribute to, support or promote one of my most important goals?’ will help you instantly see the answer. Again, you don’t need to be perfect about it to experience the benefits of this sytem. If you check your list of goals and choose to engage (or not engage) in something that serves (or doesn’t serve) your important goals only some of the time, you will experience very tangible benefits.
I’ve found that doing this not only moves me in real ways toward my goals, it also helps me recognize the value of the small steps I take, and experience a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction every day, way before I reach my ultimate goal. It helps me appreciate the journey I’m on. I wrote this prayer or mantra to remind and inspire me, feel free to use it, or better yet write your own, from your heart:
May everything I choose to spend my time on each day contribute in some way to one or more of these areas. And may I reduce to a minimum the time I spend doing things that do not move me forward toward my most important goals.
I hope you will be inspired to give this strategy a shot as we step into a new year.
What are your goals and most important areas of life to pay attention to in 2024? Do you have questions about this, or comments? I’d love to hear from you via a comment below. If you would like some support in setting up this system to help you start the new year with focus and clarity, I would love to work with you! Please comtact me via the Contact button at the top.
Warmest wishes to you for a healthy, happy, inspired and rewarding new year! May we all find the inspiration, courage and clarity we need to create a beautiful year for ourselves,
Orna.
