It’s that time of year again when everyone starts thinking about their New Year’s resolutions.
Well, here is my take on New Year’s resolutions. Don’t write them.
I want you to do this one thing instead to create an inspiring vision for 2023.
Even though the start of a new year brings a sense of renewal, it also can bring impending pressure, right? To wrap things up and start things fresh. So, sometimes the New Year can be overwhelming.
Well, it doesn’t have to be. And instead, I’d like you to look at it just a little bit differently. This is an opportunity to create something more inspiring for the next twelve months. Fully consider where you want your work and your life to end up by the end of 2023.
Why bother doing this?
If you’re a goal person and can stick to them and get it done, great!
If you’re a resolution person, where you can map them out and achieve them, that’s wonderful!
I am not one of those people, and you may not be, either. So, I encourage you to create a vision for next year instead.
What is a vision?
Technically, vision is the state of being able to see, but for this exercise, a vision is anything you see, hear, or feel. It’s like a movie with all the sounds, colors, and movements. But what’s most important is that a vision is personal.
To live an authentic life that’s inspiring and fulfilling, the vision can only come from you. And as I always say, having that authentic, inspiring, fulfilling, happy life is an inside job. It requires your awareness to see what might be getting in the way because it’s not about adding to who you are but about discovering what is covering you up.
Today, we will start the process to see what’s underneath the surface.
Your vision is yours exclusively, so keep it to yourself as you craft it. It is you claiming for yourself what it is that you want in 2023. Please also remember, it’s not cast in stone; you start wherever you’re at and adjust it as you live it.
But, as busy professionals, we’ve got a lot going on. We’re trying to wrap up the year. We’re trying to navigate the new year that’s coming. We’ve got the holidays, or as a good friend says, holi-daze. Because aren’t we dazed and confused with everything that’s sometimes happening?
So, I want this to be just an easy exercise.
Here’s what you do.
Number One, I want you to get a shoe box. Or, if you do this digitally, create a digital file on your computer somewhere. Find some Post-it notes too. You can get colored Post-it notes, scraps of paper, or whatever you have lying around your house; it doesn’t matter.
Number Two, I want you to be curious, open, and aware because change cannot happen unless you’re aware first. I want you to dream, but I don’t want you to limit your dreams. As you’re contemplating your vision for next year, if something comes to you and it seems like it’s a little further out of your comfort zone or outside of the realm of what you think you can accomplish, keep going. Write it down. It’s coming up for a reason.
Number Three, I want you to consider this past year and what you enjoyed that resonated with you that you want to take into 2023. Write it down. What is it that you want to amplify?
And then, conversely, what is it that maybe didn’t work so well, didn’t make you happy, or left you feeling unsatisfied, stuck, or unfulfilled? Pay attention to that too. Instead of writing it down, discover what the positive opposite of that might be for you. For instance, maybe last year you sacrificed your health for work. The travel was too much, your eating habits were crap, and you had to take high blood pressure medicine. The positive opposite might be regaining your health without medication.
Create a list or write each on a Post-it and drop it in the box.
Number Four, what other areas of life are most important to you besides your career?
So, career is where we spend most of our day, but there are other aspects to who we are. Maybe it is your relationship with another person and it’s not in a good place. You know you’ve got to do something different this year to repair it because that relationship is just that important to you. Great. Maybe that’s another area you choose to focus on.
It could be more family time. Maybe things went differently than you wanted them to in 2022. So, in 2023, you’re looking to carve out that time for your family because it’s also that important to you.
If you have a career, what other two areas of life would you spotlight in 2023? I never encourage you to focus on more than 3 areas at a time. What does each of these areas look like when they are ideal? What benchmarks will tell you it’s going in the right direction? What do you see, hear, or feel for each one of these areas of life when they are ideal?
Number Five, when you map out this vision, let’s also consider the obstacles. What has to change for this vision to come to fruition? What boundaries do you need to put in place? What do you stop doing? What to you start doing instead?
Number Six, who can help you? You don’t need to do this all by yourself. Who are the subject matter experts? Who are the people you know that are good in the areas where you struggle?
My expertise lends itself to self-leadership about building the foundation of who you are. If you’re looking to develop your self-leadership so that you can go on to lead others effectively, you can check out my content.
But, if you want to go on a health and fitness journey, who’s got a YouTube channel or some Facebook group on that topic? Let people help you. You don’t have to figure it out on your own.
Number Seven, Consider all mediums when gathering this information. Are there quotes that resonate with you? What journal entries do you make that describe your vision of what you want? Are there pictures on social media or capturing an image with your phone that illustrates to you what this area of life would be like when it’s ideal? Find magazine articles, blog posts, and podcast episodes; there is so much information to help you.
In Summary
You’re thinking about no more than three areas of life. One is your career or your leadership, and the other two are those areas of life that are most important to you right now.
#1 – Get a shoe box and Post-It notes or create a digital file for this project on your computer.
#2 – Let yourself dream. No holds barred. Please don’t put any limits on it.
#3 – What do you want more of in these areas of life? Conversely, what would you want less of? And then translate that to the positive opposite.
#4 – What areas of life other than career? So you’ve got three total areas of focus. No more.
#5 – What has to change for this vision to be successful? What are the boundaries you need to put in place? What are the possible obstacles that you might encounter? Think about those to set yourself up for success.
#6 – Who can help you? You don’t have to do it by yourself.
#7 – Consider all mediums. Capture quotes, journal entries, pictures, take pictures with your phone, magazine articles, blog posts, podcast episodes, and anything that describes or helps to fill in that vision of what you want in 2023.
Now, to keep this vision in front of you, make sure you revisit it in 90-day increments. Put something on your calendar and revisit and revise the vision. Setting time to look at your vision in 90-day increments helps to keep it in front of you. You get to say yes, no, or I want something different each time.
And if you’d like clarity on the next level in your leadership, download my free resource at www.clarityworkbook.com so that you can uncover your own answers to help fill in the vision for you!
Until the next time, here’s wishing you all the Clarity you deserve, and an inspiring vision suited just to you in 2023.
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