Setting intentions for 2023: feast on your one, wild and precious life!
An inspirational friend shared the poem accompanying this post with me a few years ago and it struck such a chord.
It was at a time that I knew I needed to change direction and not just be a passenger waiting for life to happen to me or to ruminate about paths not taken.
I wanted to feast on my life! A few years on I am doing just that. Taking intentional steps to move in the direction I want to go and finding joy wherever I can. That doesn't mean life doesn't throw me curve balls (or the occasional grenade) and I'm regularly outside my comfort zone but I've created enough balance that I can return to strategies that help me work my way through challenges. In calmer times, I am working at what I love and with people who inspire me.
As a coach and personally, I tend to work with intentions as opposed to goals and have created some intentions to keep me on my path in 2023. They include:
1. Continue to choose courage over comfort: I know that my proudest achievements or satisfying moments have come when I put myself out of my comfort zone. As an introvert who is happier in the background, I am regularly stepping away from comfort by delivering training, speaking in public and putting myself out there on LinkedIn. Doing this has led to an abundance of new relationships, friendships and connections.
Out of work, I’ve chosen courage and gone travelling solo when my husband is not interested in the area I want to visit or fellow travelling friends cannot get the time off. The alternative is not going – why would I miss this opportunity? Being brave has meant I have seen Petra in Jordan, gone to the opera in Verona, spent time on a cowboy ranch in Montana and ticked off number 1 on my bucket list in the paradise that is the Galapagos Islands. Yet, every time I do this, I sit on the plane on the way there, asking myself ‘what the hell am I doing’??? Despite this fear, I come back a week later, having had amazing adventures, seen new cultures and made new friends and I walk back through arrivals feeling about a foot taller. I want more of this feeling.
2. Continuing to consciously curate my whole life and not just work: this has been a revelation to me this year. I was recommended a book by Kate Northrup: ’Do Less, Achieve More’ and since then I have rethought my perceptions of balance. Those who follow me will know I am not comfortable with the term ‘work/life’ balance as it presents a false dichotomy. Instead I prefer to see work as just one piece of the pie of life which has it’s important place. Changing my thinking around this, has allowed me to curate my life so that it works for me.
In practice, this means incorporating balance into my week plan in addition to work. I know I work and function better when I am feeling physically and mentally well. I know what keeps me well. So it’s a case of using what I know about myself to help me plan for the week and thinking outside the 9-5 structure. So, I include things that replenish me and give them equal priority to work related tasks: for example an online yoga for 20 mins, a walk at lunchtime, a webinar about something that interests me, reading murder mysteries or catching up with friends. They are all essential parts of my plan for balance rather than things that are hastily fitted in or dropped.
If you are reading this thinking that you don’t have time to fit those in, give me a call and can talk about circles of power and control! This has made such a difference. I’m calmer, more productive, have more energy and most importantly more joy!
3. Continue to build emotional literacy so I can be present and experience everything: In the past, I would tend to push uncomfortable emotions aside thinking I would deal with them later. I’m much better with appreciating and feeling joy! I am great at being in the moment and enjoying the experience when things are going well but in 2023, I want to build on what I’ve started which is to get better at sitting with uncomfortable feelings. They usually have something to teach me if I’m willing to listen and they are usually exactly what they need to be.
4. Be intentional about the direction I want to go with People Like Me: one of the things I’m most proud of in 2022 has been to set up my coaching and training business. I was intentional and focused about this and have achieved more than I had imagined in my first ten months. I’m now revisiting my aims, vision and direction for next year; wanting to build the coaching aspect and scale down some of the other areas of work so I can concentrate on this. To be this I have to be intentional – another giant mind map with Sharpies at the ready!
5. Incorporate writing as a regular activity in my life: I love to write! Why am I not doing more of this? I have lots of ideas but I’m still not writing enough so this needs to change. I want to do more of what I love so this is now going to become part of my weekly curation. 2023 is the year I get creative.
6. Walk into opportunity: This phrase has been on a sticky note above my desk since I heard a very inspirational speaker talk about the potential for missed opportunities
- walk into opportunity! If a door is open that is linked to my values and vision for life, I’m going to walk through it and see where it takes me. Some may have a brick wall or a fence behind them but others will lead me to unexpected places. It’s all about the exploration.
These intentions will help me really be in my own one, wild and precious life. What are your intentions for 2023 and how can they help you to feast on your life?
If you want to start to curate your own life, then give me a call. We can set up a free initial meeting to see how coaching could transform your life. Coaching got me here so I know it’s potential. Come join me and feast on your life!