As you reflect upon what is yours to own (last week’s question), a natural next question relates to reflecting upon what you want more of this year. When you take the time to ask this question, we begin to focus and clarify what is really important to you. Once you have gained clarity, you can put this into action and schedule time to actually do what you want more of this year. One of the challenges we face in our overwhelmed schedules is that we often say “yes” before realizing that this is not even an area that is particularly important to us in our current season. Someone has made a compelling case or offer and we agree to go along with it. Join me this week as I provide three next steps to take so that you can reflect on the question “What do I want more of this year?”
Maximize your energy.
One of the people who has provided insight into my life right now is Emily P. Freeman. I am utilizing her Next Right Thing Guided Journal, and she has a section each month that encourages the reader to make two lists. What was life giving and what was life draining? When we reflect upon the areas that are life-giving, this is also connected to increasing our energy. These are the things we want more of in our lives. This may look different for each of us depending upon our season but they are important questions to ask to discern what we want more of in our lives. For instance, when I have the opportunity to facilitate a meeting of highly-engaged people toward a common goal, I have incredible energy. When I am able to coach or encourage someone to pursue their passion and purpose for their lives, I am energized. These are the kinds of things that I want more of this year. This energy also comes from our personal lives. For me, having time to read books for fun or play games with my family also brings tremendous energy and are the types of things I want more of this year. As you answer this question, make a list of those things that maximize your energy and you will be closer to answering “What do I want more of this year?”
Look forward to the end of the year.
This step is a vision-casting one. As Stephen Covey reminds us “Begin with the end in mindⓇ.” Give yourself the gift of an hour and make some notes about where you want to be and who you want to be at the end of 2023. As you reflect upon the end of the year, this can help you clarify what you need to do at the beginning of the year to move in that direction. At the end of the year, do you want to have connected with more family or friends or do you want to live in more rhythm in your daily life? This forward-looking perspective helps you develop the list of what you want more of now so that you can be in the place you want to be at the end of the year.
Schedule time for it.
As I have mentioned previously, one of the best ways to move toward what is important to us and what we want more of is to develop and schedule an “ideal week.” If we are going to spend more time doing what we really want to be doing throughout the year, we have to schedule it and protect it. Inevitably, people will ask for time to do things that may or may not be what you want more of this year. If you have an open calendar that does not have time reserved for what you want more of, you are more likely to say “yes” to things that may or may not align with what is most important to you right now. When you intentionally schedule time and protect that time, you are able to proactively focus on what you want more of during the year.
So what about you? As you reflect on this question, what do you want more of this year?
If you would like additional resources and support related to this question, check out my free Masterclass, Escape the Overwhelm.
Photo by christy jacob on Unsplash
