Do you want to be more intentional and have greater meaning in your life this New Year?
As I reflect on the great Martin Luther King, I’m reminded of the importance to serve others and how good it makes us feel to be of service. When we take time to prioritize what’s important and let go of what’s last on our list, we're much more intentional and have more presence for the people and the things that truly matter in our lives. I have put together a blog to help you below.
#1: Write it all Down:
Journaling helps people let their overwhelming thoughts down on paper and out of their head. Many clients I work with have said that once they journal, they feel so much lighter afterward. I’ve had a journaling practice since I was 9 years old and I can concur it helps me feel so much lighter and liberated. I highly suggest doing a free-writing practice. Free-writing is when you just keep writing your thoughts no matter how stupid or silly you may think they are and resist the desire to edit anything. Imagine dumping it out all onto the paper!
#2 Glean Your Free-write:
When you’ve finished your free-write from above, go back and underline or circle what seems most important for you. You can have fun with it by highlighting in different colors what seems like a priority or what seems like a surprising insight to you. Often when I’ve done this, I’ve highlighted certain phrases that feel like my authentic self or some empowering phrase that’s important for me to remember. Through doing this, you may have a lot more clarity on your thought processes and by going through your free-write with an analytical eye, you’ll have more information on what you truly want and need to make them into goals.
#4: Make Your Goal(s) Specific:
One of the reasons we don’t achieve our goals is because we make them too lofty and they can seem overwhelming when put into action. Therefore, write down your goal and make it as specific as possible. The more specific you can make it, research shows the closer you will get to achieving it.
#3: Create a Categorized Priority List:
One of my favorite ways to create a priority list is to make categories. You have authority over which categories you want to work on most. The categories I use are “Self-Care” “Finances” and “Business” at the moment because these are the categories I need to work on most. By categorizing the list, it creates a more organized way to look at what you need to do. Then create very specific action steps under each category. Before I began categorizing my to-do list, I would without noticing it skip my action steps on finances (because it’s my least preferred thing to do). But since I make it its own category, I make it a point to achieve one of the specific action step items on my “Finances” category list once a week.
#5: Do The Doubler:
The Doubler is a writing exercise by Shawn Anchor, author of The Happiness Advantage. Each day in the evening take time to for 2 minutes about what brought you the most meaning that day. You may be surprised by what you wrote. By doing this you will come to notice what brings you a true feeling of meaning in your life. The first step to bring more meaning into your life is to notice what brings you meaning and the more you notice, the more you will be able to seek out and plan for more moments of meaning in the future!
#6: Gratitude Journaling:
Research shows it that gratitude just works. You may write down the top 5 gratitudes from your day or just do a gratitude free-write. When things are going tough, you can always be reminded that it could be worse when you do a gratitude practice.
#7 Ask yourself-What Can I Give?
Research shows that the most truly confident people are ones who focus more on others than on themselves. When over-focus on ourselves, we aren’t living our happiest life because we are not feeling like we are of service. Everyday ask yourself “How can I give?” or “How can I be of service?” The more you feel like you’re being of service, the more connected you feel to yourself and the the greater collective. And not to mention, the more you will make an impact in the world!