It’s so easy to wake up every day, fill your time with exciting things that keep you busy then wrap up the night with Netflix! We’ve all done it! We run so fast through the day that often times it’s a challenge to stop and smell the roses. In an attempt to change this about my life, something I’ve been very intentional about is creating time to slow down, reflect, and find the valuable lessons in every challenge, opportunity, mistake, and achievement I experience. And here’s the best part, instead of keeping these gems to myself today, I’m sharing them with you so we can live and learn together as we apply them in 2022!
Lesson 1: Be Patient With Yourself
Here’s the big takeaway: progress over perfection
Every year we start with high ambitions and a really inspiring vision of who we can become and all the amazing things we can create in the world over the next 12 months. In fact, most of us are so excited that we’re ready to get it done NOW! but as the days turn into weeks and the weeks grow into months our fire begins to dwindle down and we wonder if what we envision will actually happen. You might be wondering how I know this so well? Well, it happened to me.
What kept me in the game was gently reminding myself that great things CAN take time and this would take as long as I needed it to take. There were lessons for me to learn, beliefs I got to shift, and inner growth I needed to allow in order to experience the things I was dreaming about. This experience settled for me that any progress is better than none at all.
Lesson 2: Less Is More
Here’s the big takeaway: master your 5% activities
This lesson is particularly important in business. This year I had so many great ideas, offers for collaboration, and things I could have done to generate additional income (to help pay off my student loan faster). Of course, being the ambitious chick that I am I was down to do whatever it takes to get this debt paid off faster, but as the work piled on and I got more and more disorganized and feelings of overwhelm started to kick in. I knew this was not sustainable so as I searched for the lesson in all of this I remembered something one of my business coaches says all the time! “The less I do, the more I make!”
Here’s the lesson: It’s not about being a part of every event, working on multiple projects at the same time, or trying to get all your big ideas off the ground at once! That could drive anyone crazy! If you’re going to be effective (get results) you have to know what deserves your time, energy, and attention and what you can put on the burner while you work on what’s most important for you right now.
This comes down to Mastering Your 5% Activities and it was such an important lesson for me that I took everything I uncovered about time, project, and self-management and turned it into practical lessons, insights, and training that anyone who wants to get better at this can use to become a master of their time and ultimately their life. This online training has helped a ton of people so far and I’m looking forward to sharing it with many of you in the new year!
Lesson 3: Quality Over Quantity
Here’s the big takeaway: depth is better than width
Steve Jobs said, ” Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than 2 doubles” and I’m not a baseball chick but this goes for everything! Business and personal relationships, content creation, your inner circle, accepting opportunities (or not), project management, it’s just become a way of life. The way that I interpret this is:
- One quality friendship is better than having 5 surface level relationships
- One impactful product is more valuable than selling 3 that are mediocre
- Having clear, targeted messaging that speaks directly to the person you want to help is better than speaking in general terms and attracting people that won’t benefit from what you have to share
What’s the lesson? Choose to go deep instead of settling by going broad.
Lesson 4: Your Brain Is A Super Computer
Here’s the big takeaway: practice using your brain
I read Jim Kiwks book Limitless and it broke down in simple terms how magnificent and proficient our brain is. Think about this. There are people in the world right now who have been in terrible car accidents or have survived terminal illnesses and as a result, had to get parts of their brain removed. Now they’re living on half their brain and still have a fully functioning life! Incredible right!?
Now we still have access to our entire brain yet statistics show that the majority of people are barely using 50% of it. This fires me up because can you imagine what we could create in the world if we tapped into the full power of our brain! This is a deep topic that we’ll need to break down and talk about more thoroughly but this is not the episode to do it. We will definitely be talking more about this kind of stuff in future episodes but the lesson here is don’t allow yourself to be limited by your perspective because all you see and understand is not all there is to see and understand. Your level of performance right now is not all there is to you. You are full of incredible things waiting to happen you just maybe don’t know it yet (and that’s what I’m here to help you unlock)!
Lesson 5: You Are The Average Of The 5 People You Spend The Most Time With
Here’s the big takeaway: choose your inner circle wisely
Ever hear someone say that? I was always curious about this, but never actually believed it cause I thought, this is way too easy! If my salary is the sum of my 5 closest friends and I want to be good with money then I better find some wealthy friends. Or if my goal is to establish a healthy routine and flow in my life then I better surround myself with people who value health.
Here’s the lesson (and this was a big one for me). This year I learned firsthand that when someone you love, respect, and admire displays toxic, unhealthy behavior it’s imperative to do your best to love and support them. Offer guidance (not solutions) and also create healthy boundaries so that you aren’t misguided by their misbehavior or lack of awareness. If you see they are not ready to heal the disfunction (harmful ways about themself) that’s okay and you don’t have to participate in it!
I drew a hard line in the sand and let go of carrying the baggage of others in an attempt to help them grow. I learned that I can’t do the work for them and I can’t put a desire in them to want to do better. I can only trust God to complete the work He started in them and allow them to go at the pace that is right for them while continuing my own healing and growth journey.
Lesson 6: Self-Sabotage Hurts YOU
Here’s the big takeaway: your destiny is worth the effort
I was on a titter-totter this year going back and forth between people-pleasing and staying aligned with my purpose (God-pleasing). There was so much growth this year and with all the attention, impact, influence, etc came so much more noise! For a few months, I got distracted, started caring about what people were saying and thinking about me, and fell off my path. My mind felt cluttered and I was afraid of what people close to me would think about my success therefore I started trying to be “less successful”. Lol crazy right? We plan, work, and pray for the things to go the way God planned, and then when they do we sabotage it!
Here’s the biggest thing I learned from this mistake. I live with the consequences of my sabotaging behavior. The people in my life that I was immaturely trying to impress don’t have to clean up the mess I make or rebuild the things I destroy when I neglect my responsibility. They are not the ones
- Who get to live with the aftermath of my decisions
- Called to the work I do
- Out of alignment when I follow their incorrect opinions
Truthfully I understand that what others say, do, and think is not as important as how I choose to respond (whether I do or not). We are all on a journey and sabotaging mine to follow someone else’s expectations is stifling, unhealthy, and not the life I choose. That’s a wrap for this week. I’ll be sharing the rest of the 6 lessons in next weeks episode! Hit me up on the gram and let me know which one hit home for you!
