I find myself wrapping up the year already. Where did it go? Do you feel like time has no relevance anymore? With the internet and all the social media information traveling so fast, it is easy to get lost in the flux of information. I am overwhelmed with all the “I can help you” emails and blogs I receive that will potentially help me be successful with my coaching business. At times I feel like I am pulled in so many directions that I lose focus on what it is I want to accomplish.
I decided this morning I need to close the computer, turn off the news, put down the books and focus (without any outside influence) on “my” short-term goals. Typically, I set personal and business goals separately. I realized today they can no longer be separate. Being pulled in so many directions sets up a kind of “duality” that dilutes my energy. I need all the focused energy I can get to keep my life heading in a positive, abundant direction.
So how can my personal goals and professional goals be aligned? After shutting the world out this morning, I sat down and looked at my values. In coaching, one of the first exercises coaches conduct with clients is discovering their values. These are descriptors of what we need in life to make us thrive. They are different for everyone. I listed all of mine. As I read each of them, I thought of what I wanted to achieve in the New Year and I listed all that illuminated me.
To keep it simple, I chose three values that I MUST HAVE in the New Year to thrive:
1. Freedom 2. Engaged 3. Abundance.
With these, I started setting up goals. A bit tougher than I thought!
- Limit my online presence for searches to 1 focused hour a day. Checking and responding to email only 3 times per day. This give me the Freedom to make other choices in my day.
- Join two new organizations that align with the causes I support. Making the world a better place for children by providing essential life sustaining goods and services across the world. This meets my value of being more engaged.
- Create a cutting-edge workshop or seminar that will assist professionals in finding solutions to their challenges in the new year. This seminar will set the basis for my book I plan to write. This goal supports my value of living abundantly next year as it will provide a forum to meet and work professionals that can benefit from coaching. It promotes interaction personally and professionally with like minded professionals and it allows me to share my passion of helping people take the next step in living a full life.
Do you know what your values are? Can they assist you what you want to accomplish in the new year? What can you do to focus your energy around what you desire and deserve next year?
