Basics: The Four "R's"

I love this week of the year. A time to return to the basics after the often frenetic pace of the holidays combined with year end business activities. This brief week has a slower tempo; many take off work, clean up, rest. I find it a great  opportunity to rest and reflect on the triumphs and lessons of the previous year, restore my energy and renew my commitments and goals going into the new year.

The Four R's:

Rest: So taken for granted, admittedly by me as well often times. Rest is necessary to allow our mind, body and soul to heal and rejuvenate. Sleep is vital to our bodies but also our minds to remain sharp focused and creative. Studies show sleepless nights reduce memory and increase moodiness by up to 50%. Even short term sleep deprivation increases risk of many illnesses as well. Not only sleep, but allowing time to relax and slow down is restorative, we must be rested to truly be at our best.

Reflect: Taking time to honestly assess and evaluate where you are and where you are going is crucial to being effective, satisfied and genuinely happy. How did the last year go for you? What worked well, what not so much? Who do you want to be in the new year and what would you most like to do?  Make room to celebrate goals accomplished, even seemingly small ones, use those successes to build upon in the new year. Investigate which areas of your career and life were neglected or dissatisfying, what needs attention or needs to be shed moving forward?

Restore: Taken literally, re -store your personal supplies. Make it a priority to reconnect to yourself,  to feed yourself to be ready to take on the new year. We all get depleted as we  tend to give and give and give without taking a moment to restock the shelves so to speak. At some point we run out of supplies if we do not replenish. We all recharge in different ways, find what works for you. Meditation, yoga, running, prayer, a trip to Bali, or visiting with good friends.  Just reconnect to restore the deep connection you have with your higher self and higher power.

Renew: Once you have gone through this process it will become clear what direction you want to take in the new year. This is the time to renew your efforts and strengthen your resolve for  the commitments you have to yourself and your goals. You are in a great position now to set goals and design what you most want to create in the new year. If you are still unclear about what you want or what the best next step is for you illicit the help of a coach to accelerate your success. Now may be  a great time for a free consult to explore your options and guide you to make powerful action plans moving forward.

 

 

Update on Joe's Journey

So you may remember my client Joe. He is in a time of transition in his career and reached out to me midlife to figure out what he has been missing. He has not found the career fit or the life fulfillment he desires and in a sense has been going through the motions day to day for several years as many of us do. I have sent him quite a bit of materials and exercises to get him started. We have also met a few times both in person and over the phone. However, he has really not dug in yet to the task of discovery or creating a plan to move forward. I have asked him more than once about this and reconfirmed with him that working with me on these matters is in fact what he wants. He assures me it is.

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I believe him. I think that his desire for change is strong; he wants to discover himself, what his strengths and passions are to find direction and ultimately a career and life that is successful and fulfilling.

For most of us what Joe is doing is familiar ; wanting change yet resisting the onset and the work.

We all want change at one point or another. Whether to loose some weight, start an exercise regime, stick to a budget, renew a relationship or to change a career.

The truth is; we really want the change, but not neccessarily the process of changing. Just give us the results we will pass on the hard work right? Normal. Even if you are willing to do the work, as I believe Joe is, it is hard to get started and maybe a little scary too.

Leaving one way of being behind that you are used to to step into something unknow is scary. Asking yourself tough questions can be intimidating as well, do you really want to get to know yourself so well? Will you like yourself more or less after that process?

It has been a hectic time of year since Joe and I started this journey, I am confident we will keep moving along the path which is all that really matters: Move forward at whatever pace suits you. Because when you are really drawn to do something or what you are currently doing isn't working the  secret is that the change is always much easier than staying where you are.

What would you like to do or change and what holds you back?