Back For Forward

Wow! The very last Monday of 2024! Truly hard to believe, but that's what the calendar says.

I have shared with you before that I am not much of a New Year's Resolution person. However, I do think there is something to be said for paying attention to the natural rhythms and seasons of our lives, which means the turning of the page to a new calendar year is a good time for some reflection.  And while I think there are appropriate times to reminisce just for the sake of it, most of the time I think taking time to reflect is best done with an eye toward tomorrow. 

With that in mind, on this final Monday of 2024 I offer you:

Back For Forward

If you were to take some time this week to review 2024, what would stand out? What were the major joys and sorrows you experienced this year? Were there significant changes or milestones you reached? If you were to characterize the entire year with a simple word or phrase, what would it be and what kind of feelings does it evoke in you? If you took a different approach and you gave 2024 a score on a scale of 1-10, what would it be and why? What are all of the elements that contributed to that score and how do you feel about it in general?

These questions are just simple prompts to help you reflect Back and get some perspective on where you have been and what has happened this past year.  Certainly, some of it has been in your control, but most likely there are lots of things that happened that weren't in your control, but that you had to deal with anyway. Regardless of the circumstances, by looking Back, we get to put this past year into some objective perspective - to see it for what it has been and allow it to simply be what it was (since we can't do anything to change any of it now anyway!).

Now that we've taken some time to look Back, and given the fact that we can't change any of it now, part of why I like to look Back For Forward is because 2025 is currently wide open! I can't do anything about yesterday, but I can certainly make some decisions or determinations about what I want to do moving Forward. 

So, with your objective perspective of 2024 in mind, what would you like to focus on in 2025? Is there something you want to adjust or approach differently this year? Is there a relationship you want to give different energy toward (this is another whole post for later, but shifting the way we use our energy in relationships is powerful). When you think about the things that happened last year that you didn't have any control over, and knowing there will certainly be more things this year you don't have any control over, what kind of intention would you like to set for yourself in responding to those circumstances when they arise, and how might that involve a shifting in focus as you move Forward?

I can't remember what movie this is from (I'm sure someone can help me remember), but there is a scene where two parents are dropping their son off at school and one of them says, "Have a good day!" and the other parent says, "That's too much pressure." So, the first parent then calls after the son, "Have the day you are going to have!"  While I like that sentiment in general, and it would be easy just to call out, "Have the year you're going to have!" I think by taking some time to reflect Back For Forward, we can enter this new year with a little bit more determination and intention than just letting the year unfold whatever it may bring.

Here's to taking some time this week to reflect Back For Forward!

All The Best,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.

A Present

During this week of Holiday Celebrations (and I truly hope yours is filled with love and joy!), I want to give you a gift.  It is the season of presents, after all!

So here is my Present to you: Be Present!

(See what I did there?!)

Seriously, I've been trying to remember the various gifts I've received over the years at this time of year, and while I can remember some of them, mostly what I remember are the times I got to spend with people I love and who love me. I admit, it's easy for me to get caught up in the "what are we getting for who" process, so maybe this is more of a present for myself than it is for you. It's so easy to lose sight of that simple reality - that giving our time and attention to one another is truly the best gift we can offer! 

So that's my simple gift to you (and myself) this year, a simple reminder to Be Present with people. 

Here's to Being Present this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.

Perseverance!

I thought it might be helpful to follow up last week's message about finding The Next Step with another layer to this process of accomplishing big projects - Perseverance!

If we are going to set and accomplish big goals or tackle large projects, we have to figure out what the next step is in the process and tackle that...next (I know - pretty straight forward as I shared last week). But there is something else that is also required, and that is deciding to lean in with the discipline to take the next step, often when we may not feel like it.  And let's be honest, there may be many times when we don't feel like taking the next step, which is why we need a sense of Perseverance to help us. This is about finding some grit, digging in, and moving forward with the next step regardless of our feelings.

Let me illustrate with my recent backyard project. 

At one point earlier this year, I was working on the floor part of this project which required laying out a bunch of pavers in a pattern.  I thought I could make it work by just laying out some bricks and figuring out a pattern as I went.  The truth is, that worked for a while, but then I got to a point where I realized the pattern I had been using was going to leave a weird gap on one side. I thought maybe I could "fix" it by creating a "border" on the edge, but that was only going to work on one side and not all the way around. As I kept trying to experiment with new patterns on the ground, someone suggested that maybe I just needed to go and create a map with graph paper to actually figure it out. To be honest, I was super annoyed at this suggestion because I didn't want to waste all that time making a plan when I thought I could just figure it out! However, after several more failed attempts I went inside and got out the graph paper.  And again, being totally honest, I didn't want to make a map and I was really annoyed that I couldn't figure it out!  However, I leaned in with some grit and determination and decided to Persevere with this step of creating a pattern on paper first.

Of course, you know what happened. I was eventually able to figure out a map, and once I had it, actually laying out the pavers was so much easier.  I wanted to skip the step of making the map, but by setting aside my emotional reaction and leaning in with some Perseverance to the step I knew made the most sense, I saved myself a lot of work and headache in the long run.

What about you? Are you currently involved in a big project but are feeling annoyed at the next step you know is the best one to take? How could you lean in with some Perseverance right now?  What are the feelings you need to acknowledge but know they aren't actually helpful feelings right now, and how could you counter those feelings with some determination and grit? The truth is, at some point in every big project, some kind of Perseverance is definitely required.

Here's to leaning in to the next step with Perseverance this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.