At the start of a mindfulness course, I always ask people what they want to get out of it. One answer I received was: ‘To stop feeling like life is slipping through my fingers.’
I could totally relate to that. In the past, I’ve often felt that life is speeding up more and more, and that I’m not really making best use of it. I’ve felt I wasn’t doing the kind of work I really wanted to, spending time with people I most enjoyed seeing or generally having meaningful experiences.
I was rushing through life, just hoping to get through the day without anything going too badly wrong.
Also, I’d often not be able to remember what happened yesterday, last week or last year.
I don’t feel like that anymore. I feel that my life is richer than ever and that I’m living it more on my terms, in an intentional way, rather than things just happening to me.
I’m not saying that to show off! I’m saying that to reassure you that if you don’t feel like that now, it can change.
One of the things that most helped me to change that (apart from mediation and mindfulness) was getting a coach. Having coaching introduced me to the concept of reflection. Looking back over my day, my week or my year and reviewing how I’d used the time. Had I lived in accordance with my values and passions? What did I appreciate about what happened? What had I learned?
It’s partly about taking responsibility for your life. As Steven Covey said:
‘I am not the product of my circumstances, I am the product of my decisions.’
So if you’re not happy in your job, your relationship, your living situation or anything else, it’s about being honest with yourself about that and acknowledging that you have the power to change it. It’s about celebrating what did go well, what you achieved, and appreciating the people who supported you. It’s also about being ambitious and daring with the kind of life you want to live in the future.
I like to use this time of year as an opportunity to reflect back on the last 12 months and set some goals for the year ahead.
If this sounds like it would be a useful thing for you to do, I’ve created a series of questions that you can use. I suggest taking yourself off to a nice cafe and taking your time to go through them.
You can download the questions here.
Also, on 24 January, we’re hosting a workshop called ‘How to achieve your 2018 goals, mindfully.’ We’re going to help you decide what your goals should be for the year in both your personal and professional life, and introduce you to proven strategies for achieving them, whilst also being content in the here and now.
There are a limited number of Early Bird tickets available at 1/3 off. You can buy your ticket here.
This is my last blog of the year, so I wish you a very happy holiday, and a purposeful, joyful and mindful 2018!
In the words of Anne Sweeney:
‘Define success in your own terms, live by your own rules and build a life you’re proud to live.’
