The New Year is a great time to look at your life and decide what changes you are willing to do to live your best year in 2022! While there is much we cannot control, we each have the ability to live a meaningful life.
When I was younger I floated along from year to year. Now, it’s clear that life is short and I can take steps to live my best life. A big part of those steps is helping my clients make changes to live the life of their dreams.
Here’s the first question I ask a new client: “What is important to you?”
Why ask this? People do not make changes that are not important to them. Some folks tell me they need motivation. I can’t provide motivation. What I can do is help them understand what they consider important and help them reach those goals.
I am hopeful for a better 2022.
Here are the questions I’ve asked myself to motivate myself in the coming year.
Maybe they can inspire you to decide how to make it a better 2022 (I’ve included some of my answers as an example):
1. What is important to you? What do you stand for? What are your values?
(My answer: I want to help more people manage their weight and diabetes so they have more energy and less medical problems).
One way to answer this question is to write out what you would like people to say at your funeral. This was an exercise I did when I was 34 years old and it helped me focus on who I wanted to be.
2. What can you do differently to live more in line with your values? Are there things you can learn that will help you?
(My answer: I just enrolled in a writing course for nutrition professionals. Maybe my newsletters will get better).
3. What can you let go of that is no longer serving you? What is holding you back?
(My answer: I’m going to quit telling myself the story that I can’t write well. It is not helpful and causes me to waste time).
Negative thinking affects all of us.Henry Ford said, “If you say you can, or you say you can’t, you’re right.” Once you eliminate yourself as an obstacle, the rest is usually achievable.
4. Where can you get support? Who can help you?
(My answer: I found some professionals that are good at what I need to know and have joined membership groups. Investing in myself helps me grow.)
Change is hard, but it is possible and worth it!
I’ve seen clients change the story they tell themselves. They give up old ways of thinking and learn to do things differently. Like me, they end up with more confidence and live better than ever.
As a simple example, I was asked by a local news station about doing a live segment on healthy eating for New Year’s. In the past I would break out in a cold sweat and be obsessive and miserable until the deed was done. Now, I look forward to the challenge without dread and with confidence.
For more on living the life of your dreams, I recommend The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living by Russ Harris. Both books really helped me make positive changes.
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