“Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.” – Leo Babauta
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. For me, they tend to feel overly focused on “fixing” our perceived failures, problems, weaknesses. As someone who firmly believes in strengths-based development I can’t help but wonder how much fun it really is to focus on something that’s NOT a strength. Or at least a potential strength? That sounds like an exercise in misery and self-punishment. (No wonder so many resolutions fail!)
Instead, I prefer to focus on an over-arching theme or area of focus for the upcoming year. This gives me something to tether my efforts to, while playing into my passions and allowing for flexibility and creativity.
Last year I was focused on Business and Personal Growth as I fully built out my coaching practice, including a multi-tiered business model and social media presence. It also meant a disciplined approach to reigniting my spark around physical fitness, learning to weight and strength train, and finally transforming myself into a runner.
The previous year, 2022, the overarching focus was Education and Learning while I completed several professional certifications, licenses, and designations. The Learning theme gave my brain permission to treat education like a full-time job, without guilt or apology.
Back in 2021, amid the COVID pandemic, and immediately following an initial MS diagnosis and a very personal decision to fully commit to sobriety my theme was Health – Mental, Physical, Spiritual. This was the year I 100% stepped away from a full-time corporate job and decided to pursue the dream of owning my own coaching practice, working on my own terms and schedule. It was a pivotal transition that allowed me to get laser focused on my own mind-body-spirit connections through exercise, meditation, therapy, and dedication to a 12-step program (which I continue to do today, and fully believe every human on the planet should work as well).
This year the theme is Simplicity. While I’m not entirely sure what the Simplicity theme includes – or eliminates – I know this: It is energizing and sparks my imagination. Rather than beating myself up in three months because I already blew up a “resolution,” I know, based on experience and success, this thematic approach allows me the breathing room to stretch, grow, challenge myself in the interest of focusing on what is most meaningful in life.
How you prepare yourself and your family, team or business for a new calendar year, fiscal year, or business quarter is vitally important. When the leading factors are essentially shaming you or your team for everything that is broken or imperfect, everyone is immediately put into a defensive, “fight or flight” mentality.
Instead, tap into an energy level that vibrates with creativity and strength. This doesn’t mean you can’t work on changes and improvements where needed. To ignore those areas would be a bit irresponsible. But it does enable you to build your plans for the year on a foundation of what is already solid, good, and strong. Your family – and/or team – will thank you. And you will thank yourself
