With the warm glow of the holidays behind us, December is a hard act to follow. Add on a dose of the “January Blues” and the idea of bursting into the year all fired up may seem daunting at best.
I find the onset of the cold, quiet days of January the perfect time to spend a day or two breaking down last year and building up for success in the new year. It’s important to understand that we’re not always mentally ready to jump right off the starting block on January One. Setting some realistic expectations for the first few weeks into the new year is key. Try warming up to these 3 time tips that will most certainly fan into flame those smoldering embers and re-ignite your desire to tackle life. After all this is your race and YOU get to set the pace!
Taking the lead from author and psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud and his book, “Necessary Endings” I have learned to metabolize my past in order to receive new energy and growth for my future.
Dr. Cloud asserts that we are accustomed to thinking of the word “metabolize” in relation to our diet and waistline. That certainly makes sense after a season of feasting on treats and holiday food. When you look at the definition of metabolize in the Cambridge English Dictionary it means … “to use chemical processes in the body to turn food into energy, new growth and waste.” Simply put, our body has been designed to take the food we digest, use it for good and eliminate the extra stuff.
What if we went to the next level and took the time to “digest” our experiences of last year? Grab your journal and write down at least ten things that went really well in the past twelve months. Divide them into columns of work, faith and life. Consider what was awesome about these events. Then level up and take a couple of those experiences that brought you the highest level of satisfaction and results and think how they could be expanded in the coming year. Take the best “food” and determine how you will use it for new energy and growth that will provide sustenance and nourishment for your future.
Of course, the opposite is also true. Our bodies routinely reject and eliminate anything that is not worth keeping around. This is the step that we often have the hardest time implementing and precisely why we need to make reflection a regular practice in our life. If you are having difficulty gathering the motivation for the New Year, it could be likened to trying to run a race after a heavy holiday meal. You need to take the time to process through the good, the bad and the ugly! Consider habits, behaviors, projects, unhealthy relationships that are no longer serving you and may even be holding you back from growth. Then take them to the curb, discard them and don’t look back!
Pure and Simple. Just do it!
Like school aged children home on winter break, if you don’t give them something of value to do, they’ll fill the void. Not surprisingly, it seldom is what we would’ve desired. Once you have metabolized your best ideas from last year and you are ready to move forward with a growth plan, give your time a job!
Use this as a starting block. Envision the next 12 months.
Where do you see yourself at year’s end?
What will you have accomplished?
What personal/ professional growth will you have experienced?
Be specific and honest with yourself. If you write down, “I’ll be more organized.” What does that look like to you?”
To be more organized:
The storage areas in my home (closets, cabinets) will have only those items in them that I use on a regular basis (at least once every 6 months). Everything else will be eliminated.
I will be following and implementing a daily/weekly/monthly plan that I set up for myself with my milestones in mind. It will have become a habit and a non negotiable.
My schedule will be organized so that meal planning and workouts are time blocked with resources in place so I don’t scramble at the last minute.
Next take that 12 month vision and break it down into four – 90 day segments. I like to work in smaller chunks of time allowing me to build on the momentum of my success and quickly identify failed ideas. It also sets up natural reflect, reset and renew checkpoints every 3 months that keep me honest with myself. Without a plan in place, time will definitely find a way to do its own thing. Let’s be sure to answer back, “Not on my watch!”
Time is a level playing field. We all have the same amount of hours each day. If you have done the thought work to metabolize your time, you’ve accepted the daily discipline of giving your time a job, then you are ready to seize the unlimited opportunities that time holds! The best news is that it’s our choice to invest it wisely or let it run its course.
Train your mind to think of time as a grand opportunity to accomplish your dreams and bring value to the world around you. Instead of lamenting over your lack of time, measure the moments and determine to make them worth it! When you hear yourself complaining about overwhelm, reset your mind to think of the opportunities before you each day. Choose which ones will have the end result of feeding you, giving you much needed energy and growth to care for the world around you. Eliminate the rest. Just do it!
When I consider my friends who are movers and shakers, I can tell you they never complain to me about not having enough time. They use each minute as a gift not to be squandered. Elimination of wasteful activities is part of their daily regimen and they seem to always have enough time to lend a hand or some solid advice. It’s not surprising that they are also the most successful people I know. After all, the time to prepare for the next great opportunity is not when it is upon us. Do that and you will continuously miss out on life’s best!
Make this your year to GROW!
Now, it’s up to YOU! Take these three time tips, grab a cup of something hot and give yourself permission to take a day of reflection. Ensure your success by doing this BEFORE you kick it into high gear. Take time and metabolize it, put it to work and get ready to seize the opportunities that your reignited flame produces!
