Can this year be your best year yet?
Confession, I am no expert, not even close. Like you, I am just somebody that gets up every day and tries to be a little better than the day before, it’s a process, always has been, always will be. That said, I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt that fundamentals in any sport are the foundation for optimum performance. Coaches and players always go back to fundamentals, the basics, why? because the basics provide the foundation for greatness.
If you want to make this year truly different, I’d like to challenge you to focus on one thing and one thing only, self-awareness. Self-awareness provides the foundation or the fundamentals required for optimum performance in our personal and business lives. In essence, self-awareness serves up the most important component required for you to live your definition of success… DISCIPLINE. Here are three things to be acutely aware of each and every day:
1. Your thoughts (who do you hang with, watch and read?)
2. Your habits (are you developing new positive ones?)
3. Your behaviours (impulses or conscious decisions?)
Thoughts, it has been proven a million times, the company you keep has a direct impact on the life you live. Therefore it stands to reason the stuff you enter into the most powerful computer on the planet (your brain) will also have an incredible impact on how we conduct ourselves. More importantly, the material we ingest has a direct impact on our self-esteem and self-worth. This isn’t a theory, it’s a fact, the question is what are you going to change in order to change your life?
Habits, a fundamental mistake people make is to try to get rid of a bad habit by eliminating said bad habit. A more effective approach is to crowd the bad habit out by developing good habits that ultimately replace the bad habits. With that comes self-empowerment and momentum….nothing like momentum in the right direction!
Behaviours, most of us run on automatic pilot, subconsciously plodding along often without much thought at all. The subconscious often drives us home and when we get in the driveway we wonder how we did that without being fully present and without getting in an accident. Self-awareness requires conscious, intentional decisions that are in line with our true desires. Animal instincts and impulses will more often than not take us down a dark, dead-end road. Ten or fifteen minutes of mediation every morning will force you to focus on intention and will go a long way to rewiring your brain towards the life you really want.
This article is intentionally brief, bite-sized. The last thought I’ll leave you with as you look into the window of 2022 is this, most people overcomplicate everything. I’ve known people that have read 50 books on self-improvement and when I ask what they’ve changed in their lives I get a blank stare. Constant new information does absolutely nothing but crowds the library of your brain. Ingesting information incessantly is like over-eating, it’s frankly bad for you and instead of a stomach ache, gives you a massive headache. Digesting information however is entirely different. It becomes part of your DNA as you discover gold nuggets that you immediately implement to enhance your journey. This digested knowledge is immediately understood and put to good use to help you make the changes you truly desire. Less information and more execution might be a good mantra for you to adopt as you celebrate the birth of a New Year. Make this one different, no excuses.
With deep respect and gratitude, hj
