Ask Backwards
As the year draws to a close, take the opportunity to ask the big questions that lead to significant wins in your life and business.
How did this year treat you? Or the more appropriate question may be, how did you treat yourself? Have you been in action – choosing to powerfully take on what the world throws at you – or have you allowed yourself to be a victim of your circumstances? For most of us, the truth probably lies somewhere between the two; we are powerful and in action until we aren’t… and then we pick ourselves up and choose to be in action until we aren’t once again. Yet, as you consider the past year, what is the first thing that comes to your mind as you do a quick mental review? If you are like almost everyone else, what came to mind for you is what didn’t get done; the 20, 15, or 10% of your life where you/your team/your business fell short. Focusing on our shortcomings is what we human beings do. We beat ourselves up… apparently, the world doesn’t do that enough for us already! So, once you’re done giving yourself a mental lashing, do you feel better? Are you inspired and motivated to go out and accomplish greater things? Probably not. When we live our lives from a negative headspace, being unstoppable (and getting ourselves restarted when we are stopped) is a difficult thing to do. So, would you like to turn your thinking around? It is easy to do and requires nothing more than you choosing to use your power in your own behalf. Keeping your head turned on, shaking off what holds you back, and firmly grasping your power to have the life you say you want to have requires you to:
Stay present to the life you are living! If the negative circumstances in your world account for 20, 15, or 10% of your life, that means 80, 85, or 90% of your world is going pretty well. So, stay present to the good in your life. Choose to live from a place of happiness and gratitude for what you do have, instead of worrying about what you don’t have.
Get present to how great you really are. Here again, if 80+% of your life is going well, you’ve got to be doing something right!
So, how do you stay present to the good you do and the good around you, when your mind automatically defaults to the negative?
END-OF-YEAR COMPLETION EXERCISE
Before January 1st, sit down in a quiet space, with your significant other if you have one, and write down all of the things each of you have accomplished in the past year. (Susan and I do this every New Year’s Eve.) Include your personal and professional triumphs; the amount of money you were able to add to your children’s education fund, the amount of weight you lost, new friends you made, a new hobby you took on, a new appreciation for the simplicities of life, the clients who were exceedingly happy with the work you produced for them, taking on greater leadership, teaching what you know, etc!
Standing there, present to the good you do and the good around you, you can move in any direction you choose. You can be powerful on your own behalf, choosing to be in action around what you want to accomplish, AND choose to make a difference for others, too. This isn’t an either/or proposition. You have the power within you to make whatever you want to happen, happen. You’ve just got to stay present to your power; stay present to the good around you; stay present to the good you do; clear the junk that gets in your way, and be unstoppable… never, never ever give up!
My best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful and happy holiday and New Year!