As one year draws to an end and another one begins, there’s often a lot of talk of ‘resolutions.’ Habits people want to start, or end. New goals. Fresh starts. All good stuff. However I think we often get the cart before the horse.
You see, if you keep being the same person you’ve always been, then you’ll keep doing what you’ve always done. To get a new result, you can’t just change your actions, you have to change the story that’s driving them and impacting how you’re showing up in the world.
Breaking old habits or starting news ones, changing behavior or accomplishing anything really worthwhile is tough. Really tough. If it were easy, heck, we’d all be waking up early, never losing our cool, staying focused, or never getting distracted or frazzled by the little things that we know really don’t matter all that much.
So before you start declaring your resolutions for the year ahead, I encourage you to think about who it is you need to be in order to accomplish or change whatever it is that inspires you.
Sure, what you want to DO is important.
But so too is the who you need to BE to do them!
BE – DO – HAVE
Comedian Lily Tomlin once said, “I always wanted to be somebody, I should have been more specific.” Likewise, living the life you truly aspire to live requires BEING who you need to be so that you can DO what is required to HAVE whatever it is that brings you meaning and fulfillment and joy.
So, as I share in the video above, who is it that you want to BE in 2016?
POWER VIRTUES
I challenge you to identify three “Power Virtues” or attributes that you’d really love to embody in the year to come.
Resilient. Focused. Purposeful. Generous. Present. Patient. Kind. Accepting. Tolerant. Assertive. Brave. Decisive. Tenacious. Organized. A leader. Bold. Loving. Intentional. Fun. Daring. Self-Reliant. Optimistic. Approachable. Unstoppable. Passionate. Accessible. Confident. Playful….
Then write down your three words in numerous places that you;’ll see them often and as you come to each decision point, find yourself stuck or just aren’t feeling on top of your game, ask yourself:
- What would I do right now if I were being _(power virtue number one)__?
- What would I do right now if I were being _(power virtue number two)__?
- What would I do right now if I were being _(power virtue number three)_?
I’ve actually chosen four power virtues for 2016 (couldn’t narrow down to three!) . They are Purposeful, Playful, Present and Daring.
Purposeful:
For me purposeful means that I want to approach every day and every activity with the highest of intentions to make my greatest contribution to the world. I want to be led by a higher purpose rather than by pride or fear or any underlying need to prove myself to anyone.
Playful:
For me playful means lightening up, laughing more often and letting go worrying about having to have everything work out exactly as I want and simply trusting that everything will work out. It’s about having more fun (a lesson I learnt from spending time with Richard Branson this year.)
Present:
For me being present is moving through my day feeling centered and fully connected to whatever I’m doing and whomever I’m with. It’s about not being distracted but being focused on whatever I’m doing in that moment. Fully.
And my added fourth word that envelops all the others –
Daring:
For me being daring is ultimately walking my talk in everything I do and laying my pride and vulnerability on the line for a causing bigger than myself. It means having the courage to aim really really high, risking rejection on a regular basis and being prepared to make mistakes. A few months ago I created a chart to track how often I was risking rejection. I plan to use it as close to every day as I can in the year to come!
What about you? What are your three Power Virtues?
Please share them here, share them with those who you know will help hold you accountable and make a commitment to looking at them regularly throughout each day during year ahead.
And feel free to hold me accountable for mine too!
