Category: Blog Post

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

one

Have a brutally honest conversation with yourself. Are you really happy? What hurdles, situations or circumstances are stealing your joy? Are you confronting them head-on or hoping they go away? The relationships with those in your inner circle will be an anchor or fuel in the year ahead. Be intentional about maintaining and improving them. Have frank conversations with those closest to you and ask how they are feeling or how they perceive the health and authenticity of your relationship. This exercise is cathartic and liberating. It also gives you some clarity on what you need to improve to move to the next level.

two

Have your antenna up for something that is incredibly meaningful to you. A cause that has nothing to do with money but in some way makes your neighbourhood or community a better place. When you donate your unique talents to this need it gives you a feeling that you’ve made a contribution in some way that lives on long after you’re gone. A legacy of some sort if you will. There comes a point in everyone’s life where they recognize a life without meaning is empty, emotionally bankrupt. Being aware of this basic human need and filling it sooner than later creates the emotional balance for optimum performance.

Three

Book a course, a workshop or lessons that will challenge you intellectually and force you to learn something new. Sign up for a physical challenge, triathlon, marathon, 5k run, 2k mile swim, 50k hike or marshal art that scares you! Hire a coach and/or take lessons. Don’t think, just do and tell those close to you what you are up to. This exercise is ultra fuel for making you the best version of yourself in every area of your life.

four

Take a good hard and honest look at your net worth. Your total assets minus your total liabilities. Write it down as of January 1, 2022. What would you like it to be on January 1, 2023? Find someone that has done financially what you’d like to do. If it’s investing in real estate find a mentor. If it’s stocks find a successful advisor and hire them to guide you. If it’s retiring early find someone that’s done it, gather as much information as you can. Anything you want to do chances are someone else has already done it. Put your ego on the shelf and find them. Thankfully most truly successful people love helping others, it is simply a matter of asking and then executing on the guidance they give you. Don’t expect it to be easy or filled with guarantees, that’s the safe road, the safe road has a much lower rate of return. (Think rocking chair instead of a roller coaster).

Finally, desire without discipline leads to depression. If you don’t have a burning desire to grow you simply won’t conjure up enough discipline to stay at it for the long haul. You’ve got to be emotionally attached to the outcome you are after. That energy has to come from a deep desire to change, for all the right reasons, for you!

Happy New Year, hj

RELATIONSHIPS

Do you owe someone an apology? Is there a relationship in your life that didn’t end the way you wanted it to? Bad feelings? Misunderstanding? Or do you need to forgive someone and just let it go? Even though it wasn’t your fault should you pick up the phone and reconnect? If you can think of anyone, past or present, business or personal where this type of negative energy is lurking, set aside some time and make that call. Or maybe you are the one you need to forgive and love unconditionally? You’ll be amazed at what it does for your energy level, perspective and peace of mind. Unresolved conflict, guilt, anger and resentment are only destructive to the person that holds onto them. Letting things go is not only liberating, it allows us to fully live in the moment and clearly focus on what is important.

SPIRITUAL

Not religion, not rules, regulations, guilt or ritual but meaning. What truly gives meaning to your life? What is it that makes you realize that there’s more to life than consuming and accumulating? What fills that inner void that reminds you there’s more to life than what meets the eye? What can you do today to make your neighbourhood a better place? What positive influence can you deposit into other people’s lives that will outlive you? What wrong can you try to make right while you are here and you have the time, energy and talent to make a difference? Like spending time in nature, daily meditation and prayer are proven to have a very positive impact on our psyche.

PHYSICAL

Are you settling for a mediocre level of fitness and vitality? Are you going by the averages that have a very low standard of health and a negative pessimistic view of aging? When you look in the mirror do you like what you see? When you engage in any sort of physical activity are you happy with how you feel? Are you sleeping well? Are you able to be fully in the moment in a relaxed state of mind? Have you ever committed to a physical activity that scares you? That challenges you to the point where you truly have to reach down and become the best possible version of yourself like a marathon, triathlon, fitness competition, challenging hike, martial arts or long distance swim? No matter what your age there are many things you can do to achieve optimum health and vitality. You must however seek out like minded people with the same attitude to get encouragement and support. Unfortunately there’s no shortage of people that have basically given up. Look up fit 60, 70, 80 and 90 year olds on the internet and see not only what they are accomplishing physically but mentally in business, arts and life in general.And how about that all important space between our ears, are you challenging yourself with new information? Taking courses, learning a new instrument or language? The brain needs to be exercised just as much as your body. Finally, are you eating for health and vitality or entertainment and taste? One road leads to aging well while the other leads to decline. Science proves good health comes predominantly from a healthy well balanced diet with the Mediterranean diet often being held up as the gold standard.

FINANCIAL

Are you free? Can you do what you want, go where you want? Do you have a source of residual income that pays you even if you aren’t earning an income? Have you reviewed all of your sources of revenue and all of your expenses? Do you monitor the flow of consumption dollars verses investment dollars? Have you authored your personal definition of success and are your doing something everyday to achieve it? Have you tapped into the reality that gratitude and generosity are foundational to building significant wealth? Is money a by-product of pursuing something that you are passionate about?
The reality is if you don’t address these four quadrants in a meaningful and authentic manner you simply can’t become the best possible version of yourself. Subconsciously and/or subliminally you will sabotage your success. Only when you invest the time to drill down and find meaningful answers will you rise to a new level. Optimum performance requires you to be emotionally invested in the outcome. In other words you become so focussed on the life changing benefits of the outcome that you will do whatever is necessary to make it happen. The pain or the price so to speak is worth the results. The key is to make small decisions everyday to steer towards the ultimate goal. Nothing radical or overwhelming, simply slowly but consistently introducing new positive habits.

• Self-discipline
• Self-respect
• Self-control

All contribute to a healthy self-esteem. Get in the habit of conscious living by asking yourself “is what I am eating right now going to help me?” Is what I am reading/watching right now going to help me?” “Am I letting my feelings, emotions or circumstances control my decisions or am I taking control?”

Now that you’ve finished reading this, what can you do right now? In other words you’ve ingested this information but how can you digest it and bring it to life in some way? What little adjustment/decision can you make right now to point you towards what you really want? It will never get easier, it’s simply raw discipline fuelled by desire. Real growth comes from vulnerability, by stepping outside your comfort zone. Lean into your fears, put up the guard rails of self-control every day and watch the small changes make a huge difference in your life. 2021 can be your best year yet.

Respectfully, hj