“Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?” - Mary Oliver, Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches
I had several reasons to not start this article this morning. Shopping and planning for the holidays. Figuring out how I’m going to get every single task that others have put on my list done this week so they can enjoy their holidays. Planning for 2020. Going to the club to work out. And the list goes on and on.
When we take inventory of what’s been put on “the list” on purpose and by accident, by me or by others, we often come up short on the meaningful work that we define and plan. ” I call this “checklist” living and I’ve mastered it.
The one thing that pulled me to write this article is my commitment to write at least one article per week for Start3Things. I obviously want to do so much more, but if I can’t get one article a week out, much more will never happen. We make progress on our goals with specific commitments and deadlines that shift our focus, time and attention.
So, what do you do?
Between today and the end of the month, take 10 minutes each day to reflect on this year and imagine forward to next year. 10 minutes is doable, so put it on the top of the list and commit. Taking inventory fosters gratitude and uncovers what needs to change.
Blank page and write down the following:
3 accomplishments of this year – career, family, personal;
3 challenges of this year – career, family, personal;
3 goals for next year – career, family, personal;
3 things that you’ve always wanted to do for yourself;
3 things you are going to stop doing to create space to accomplish your goals and aspirations;
3 things you need to accomplish your personal goals;
3 things you will commit to daily for yourself;
When we specifically commit to what we will start and stop doing, consciously defining the activities that we will focus on, number 1 on the list will grow, number 2 on the list will still happen but it won’t consume us and we’ll make progress on items 3-7. We are better for others when we are fulfilling “me” tasks, so don’t discount the value of self-fulfillment to improving the quality of all aspects of your life.
The one resource I’ve been fervently recommending this past week is the podcast series and book Don’t Keep Your Day Job by Cathy Heller. Each podcast has a list of “takeaways,” so if you don’t have time for the full podcast, you do have one minute for quick list to prompt fresh thinking. It will inform and inspire you to think bigger than “checklist” living allows.
Heller states, “the day job is sort of synonymous with ‘I’m doing something I don’t really like just to pay the bills,’ whereas the dream job feels like ‘This is who I am, this is really me making my mark on this world and I feel seen and expressed.’ That’s the difference. I don’t want people to feel like they have a job. I want people to feel like they’re doing their unique work in this world. People want more fulfillment and joy. I’m on a mission to help as many souls as I can to find this alignment with themselves and add their gifts to the world.”
In her interview with author Gay Hendricks, he talks about his book The Big Leap and here are the takeaways from that interview that may help you map out your 2020 journey:
Make a commitment to change your situation. When you commit, the universe re-accommodates itself for this new thing you want.
We each have a spark within us if we choose to nourish it. It can take us into a new version of our lives.
Instead of pointing at the world and saying “Why are you doing this to me”, ask yourself, “I wonder what I want, and what I can really commit to being in my life.”
You’re only one breath away from changing your life.
Be open and willing to learn from all of life.
To find your genius, go in room alone for 10 minutes. Sit quietly and ask yourself over and over again, “What is my genius? What do I love to do so much that it makes me lose track of time?”
Surface your “but”s. Find out what “but”s are holding you back and get them out of the way.
Say one sentence about something you want. Say it out loud. Notice how you feel in your body.
Whenever you get stuck - take a breath, move your body, and love the thing that needs to be loved.
Rather than new year resolutions that will leave you disappointed by the end of January, take the next few weeks to create a framework for next year and dare to ask yourself questions that both scare and inspire you. We don’t have to have it all figured out before we start, but we do need to commit to daily action. There is so much more than “checklist” living. Create your next year with intention and purpose as the foundation and see where the journey unfolds through commitment and action.