Your life just called. It wants your attention now.
/The holiday season, with all its hum of people and activity, has gone. The party is over. For many of us, this shift from the holidays to the familiar routine can create a very loud silence, in a sense. It's a silence that leaves you able to hear your life calling. It's your ability to really hear thoughts on where-the-rubber-meets-the-road elements of your life: what's joyful and what's not, what's working well in life and what could use improvement. The switch from the holiday's hypercolor of joy and excess can also bring about a question of what needs cleansing in your life and what needs more of the joy that might have made the holiday satisfying. Frankly, the change from busyness of it all to the quiet norm can also be a bit depressing. There's no upcoming party---It's just your day-to-day life and what you make it.
What do you dream for your life?
I guess my question is for you: What do you want to make your life? What are your goals? What in your life makes you want to say "I want more of that!," and what is your plan to create more of that satisfaction in your life? Yes, I said create. It's really up to you to bring that satisfaction. But what happens if you don't know where to start? What happens if there's just that feeling of wanting more: more satisfaction in life, more happiness in relationships, more of a healing from past wounds or of a current bump in the road? Do you want to be an active participant in the creation of that sense of more?
Want a place to start? Here are some tips.
1. Envision where you would want your life to be if you waved a magic wand. Answering this question will help you get the themes of what you want. What are the things that would be different? Pick a realistic goal or two out of those aspects that you can control and make steps to achieve (In other words, the goal to make Claudia Schiffer fall in love with you is right out.). A goal to for you to feel more satisfied with life might work. Think about what aspects of life would need to improve to make that happen.
2. Make mini-goals to make your larger goals achievable. When you are progressing to a large goal, it is often unsatisfying to have a long stretch without acknowledging the mini-goals that you have achieved along the way. What are the small (or even tiny) marks of progress towards your larger goal? Celebrate them because savoring your success in these small goals can help provide fuel to keep momentum and the vision of your goal when you have the inevitable human setbacks.
This is a much more realistic chart of two sets of goals over time. It's not nearly as sexy or uplifting as straight lines.
3. Success isn't a straight line to the top. Did I mention the inevitable human setbacks? Oh yeah. If the path towards success were charted, 90% of the time it would look like the path of a tipsy pilot. We humans lose our way, lose momentum, regain energy, gain insight into what worked (and what didn't), and sometimes reset more achieveable goals. It happens, and it's part of learning what works for you!
4. Recognize if you need support. Sometimes creating needed change is painful or even lonely, especially if it involves altering a large and longstanding issue in your life. While some life change can rally the cheers of those you love, other times, change can be very scary for people around you. Well-meaning people you love can sometimes sabotage your path if the change scares them or makes them uncomfortable about their own life choices. If you feel alone or needing support to continue making the positive change you envision, call me. The holiday party may be over, but you can create a life you love to live.
Until Next Time,
Lynne
505-610-3966
Have a question or a suggestion for a blog post? Email me! I'd love to hear from you!