Getting traction with the new year

Best wishes for the New Year! New beginnings.

I have a few suggestions to encourage you not to sit back and wait for your wishes to come true, and instead give them some traction. Lay a foundation for serendipity, if you will.

Start with your why

Borrowing loosely from Simon Sinek makes sense here. Start by asking yourself: what do I really need in my life to feel that it is well lived, that it gives me a sense of fulfilment and joy, that it has meaning? Don't turn this into a to-do list. This is about the two or three things that truly matter to you. People answer this question in terms of raising their children into happy, responsible people; being a good partner; doing work they find interesting; doing work that helps others; learning new things; building something worthwhile; etc. 

Then determine what goals you can set to realize your meaning, your why in your life this year. It doesn't have to complete them. But keeping your guiding principles in mind can help you stay focused on goals that are aligned with them. Getting you closer to who you want to be.

Embrace uncertainty

Uncertainty is uncomfortable. We prefer to know what's coming so we can be prepared. It's a survival instinct. But we are facing complex challenges that can't be solved with readily available solutions. To avoid being paralyzed  by the unknown, look for opportunity in it rather than answers. When there is no one clear right path forward, there are actually a lot of possibilities - some more promising than others, of course. If you can get past the discomfort of not having an obvious answer you can move onto exploring what other options there are, and which of those might be viable. It requires us to open up the way we think beyond the obvious, simple, yes/no. Wendy K Smith and Marianne W Lewis coined the term "both / and thinking" to "embrace creative tension to solve your toughest problems".

Be judicious about your time and energy

Remind yourself of your why, the meaning you are creating with your life. Who and what do you care about? To what extent is the way you are allocating your time achieving what you intend?

What are you doing to keep your own energy levels up? How sustainably are you running yourself? What or who would suffer if your energy ran out?

Be prepared to redirect

Things evolve. Continue evaluating options as you go. Stay alert to signals that a certain goal or relationship may no longer be aligned with the meaning you want to create. When that happens, be prepared to redirect your focus. Look at realigning as adapting or anticipating, not quitting: it makes sure you accomplish what matters to you in life. Detours are ok, part of life. Some will prove useful or even a learning moment. Others are just detours. Getting back on track is how you'll get to where you want to go.

Find out more about how I can help you gain traction in creating your meaningful life.

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Find more ideas on how to start your new year off the way you mean to here:

Quartz - How to make a fresh start at work this year

Fast Company - Forget resolutions. Write a letter to yourself instead