A Step-by-Step on Purposeful Living
As January slipped into February last weekend, it almost felt like a huge relief for me. Some commented that the earth was off tilt while others lamented about “post-holiday blues”, but for me the struggle felt more personal than my funless schedule and relentless sniffles.
You see, I created goals for January based on my core values and vision for the previous year, but I did not live by them. At all. Instead, busyness, meeting others’ needs and the human curse of the need for more swept me up into a whirlwind of “doing more” in hopes of “being more”.
I am appreciative of self-love and grace and am ready to try again. I believe that living each day, week, and month with a sense of purposefulness for the bigger picture fosters true joy and a relentless pursuit to grow within yourself and your relationships. My clients continue to surprise and amaze me with their commitment to implement the values of life visions into their daily practices.
Do you want to end each month this year with some measurable ways to evaluate success in your life? Do you want to feel satisfied with your clear sense of direction for the year? Here are some steps that I took and encourage my therapy clients to take to recalibrate and live purposefully.
- Know your core values beyond God, family and friends. Perhaps you value making a difference, adventure or harmony and desire to live by these values. I have an excellent handout with hundreds of values if you would like a copy.
- Identify how these values translate into specific areas of your life. Is your value of solitude asking for more self-care? Does your value of intimacy require better boundaries? How are these values being integrated into your marriage, your parenting, your job, health and spirituality? Lots to think about!
- Set a vision on how the new year can look different and better in some of these areas based on stated values. What changes take place in relationships based on this vision? How does your body feel? Is God closer or farther away?
- Create some tangible goals for the month that work toward this vision. Make them doable and light. I loaded up on goals last month and ended up tired – the opposite of my vision!
- Check in at the beginning of the week to see if there are moments in the upcoming days where your monthly goals are being met. For some, it could look like one coffee date with your most loving and caring friend. For others, it could mean hitting up the gym one less time and using that hour to foster self-compassion and acceptance.
I realize I wrote this blog for me as an ongoing reminder, but hope you all enjoy it as well!