Gift of Focus

It’s been an interesting year full of new experiences. As we near the end of 2017, I plan to find some quiet time during the week between Christmas and New Years to sit down and decide what I plan to accomplish in 2018. Not just what I “want” to accomplish or what I’d “like” to accomplish. I’ve been down that path before. 2017 taught me that we can accomplish so much more when we truly focus. I’m no longer satisfied to pursue my dreams “someday”. Someday needs to become today.

 A beautiful journal with an embossed cover bearing the quote “some pursue happiness, others create it” usually sits on a shelf in my home office. Yesterday, I threw it in my travel bag while packing to come home for Christmas. Inside is a list of questions I recorded in the journal a year ago. I honestly can’t remember if these were questions I dreamed up or if I ran across them somewhere and simply appreciated the wisdom behind them enough to write them down. Regardless, the questions are a great place to start when deciding what I plan to accomplish in 2018 and I wanted to share them with you. I hope they give you some things to think about too. I would love nothing more than to help you create your own happiness in the coming year.

1. What did I dream about becoming when I was a child?  
2. What would I regret not doing, being or having in my life?
3. What activities make me lose track of time?
4. If I had the opportunity to teach something, what would it be?
5. What is my greatest accomplishment so far?
6. What does a perfect life look like to me?
7. What would I be doing if I had more money than I could ever spend?

Every single one of us would answer these questions in different ways. How we answer them also evolves over time. We all have our own unique definition of what “happiness” means to us. This is so important to remember. Embrace your uniqueness. Take the time to figure out what makes you happy and then search for ways to incorporate those things into your everyday life. Often it’s the little things that give us the most joy and take much less effort in comparison to the joy and fulfillment we receive when we incorporate them into our lives. Then again, sometimes it’s the big, scare-the-hell-out-of-us things we need to pursue. Plan for both the big and the little things, mix things up, find something to smile about every day, and spread joy to others.

For some strange reason, I love even-numbered years. I’m promising myself 2018 will be a year to remember. Some things I plan for now will happen because I will decide to do them, put a plan in place, and follow through on the plan. Life will also intervene, as it always does, and some things will shift as I move through the weeks and months ahead and may not come to fruition. But I love the quote by Les Brown – “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.”

​I’m also a firm believer we can grow and learn from others and one of my favorite ways to do that is by reading amazing books. Next week I’ll share some of my favorites with you. If you have any suggestions of books you’ve found helpful in pursuing your own vision of a better life, please share!

Wishing you a blessed holiday and some quiet time for your own reflection - Kim