Setting Your Internal Compass:
How are You Going to “Show Up” in 2019?
Yeah, it’s about that time.
The time for Facebook posts about the lessons we learned over the last 12 months, and bold proclamations of what’s to come in the new year.
I’ve resisted jumping on the bandwagon with my own “year in review”…
Or how I’m going to “CRUSH this year like an empty soda can!”…
And not because I don’t enjoy reading them. I like a good reflection as much as the next person.
(The “CRUSH” posts? Not so much, and I talk about why in the comments of this post.)
No, my resistance to writing my own New Year’s post has been this:
I believe we shouldn’t cram all our intention-setting into one to-do list, then judge ourselves by how many boxes we check off.
If 2018 has taught me anything, it’s that there are so many twists and turns that cannot be predicted in January…
And that my success for the year depends on my ability to balance my plans with the flexibility to adapt to unexpected changes.
Last year, I confronted death. I ended business partnerships. I struggled with the tradeoff between money and lifestyle (again!), and none of those were on my to-do list.
And if I judged myself solely on the goals I set at the beginning of the year, then I’d be missing the moral of the story…
Which for me, was adaptability.
2018 taught me that when I’m willing to adapt, I’m able to handle whatever comes my way, no matter how scary or unexpected.
And to stay adaptable, I need to commit to being deliberate; I need to pay attention to the people and things around me; I need to be aware of my emotions, and deliberate about my actions…
And none of that is easy.
But there is no to-do list that can take the place of consciously setting my internal compass. In my experience, my state of being dictates the results I achieve and how I feel about them.
So instead of listing everything we want to achieve this year…
In this fleeting moment between calendars, when we’re inspired to improve and given a fresh start to do so…
Let’s set the intention for how we want to show up in the world. Let’s make a plan for how we’re going to anchor ourselves through whatever happens.
What do you think — how are you setting your internal compass this year? What state of being is your “true north?”
