And suddenly, 2019 rolls into its last month and we are looking at a New Year ahead! In addition to numerous celebrations across many cultures, it is also a time to reflect on your own experiences of the past year and to take advantage of the opportunity to reset and refresh goals for the future.
To that end, I am providing a two-step process designed to help you first revisit the values that guide your life and second focus on the upcoming year with renewed inspiration and clarity of purpose.
This post will revisit an exercise on discovering your core values from a blog post earlier this year. Our next edition will provide a template to help you use those core values as guideposts to layout a meaningful and fulfilling future twelve months.
So – let’s get started:
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How do you go about your life? What behaviours do you engage and what choices do you make every day that reflect what is deeply important to you? Does honesty guide your actions? Does kindness mean you take the time to listen to others? Does accomplishing goals keep you disciplined, focused and hard-working?
One of the first steps to being able to answer these questions is to become acquainted with your own values – not what the culture or society or religion suggests – but what is important to you, and what speaks to your deepest inner truth. When you know and embrace what matters to you, you have a reliable ‘go-to’ resource for decision-making, and interactions with others that will always guide your life.
Try this exercise ->
• Begin with a breath exercise to center yourself and get focused. Breathe calmly and slowly. Bring your focus to your heart.
• Set the intention to connect with the true qualities and values that define who you are.
1] Consider the list of values below and list the top 5 qualities that speak to your heart. (It doesn’t matter if you do not feel you have developed the qualities, just that you are drawn to them as important. Feel free to add any of your own that are not listed)
2] For each of your top 5 values, discover the significance of their presence in your life by asking:
• “What if I didn’t have _________ in my life. What would my life look like?”
• “What have these values brought into my life – happiness, fulfilment, success, adventure?”
• “How can I bring more of my top values into my life?”
• “Is there anything that stops me from accepting more of these values in my life?”
Record three ways you can embody your values in your life. How will you keep yourself accountable to work with these values every day?
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Even if you did this exercise when it was initially posted, I invite you to do it again as a way to prepare for the next step in designing your New Year Life Plan. It will also help you discover where your inner balance and stability might need some adjustments or support.
Once you have completed the above exercise, keep it available as we will use it to guide the second step in the process next blog post.
Until then – Be Well and Enjoy the Discovery!
John