Congratulations for making it into the new decade! Today is January 1, 2020. It is time to soar. A few days ago, I watched a video clip in which a prominent speaker addressed the subject of soaring. I have ever seen a school with a motto that talks about “Rising to Greater Heights”. I also recently heard a fellow coach talk about “scaling the heights”. We all want to rise, fly, and conquer great heights — in personal and professional life. Have we thought about what it takes?
Here is our message for you in the New Year: “To reach a great HEIGHT, a person needs to have great DEPTH.” Yeah, height comes from depth, and we call upon you to develop great depth. Right now, reflect on how you are going to develop great depth in the New Year. You could consider the following examples that can form your starting point:
- Reading a specific number of relevant, practical, great books.
- Watching a particular number of empowering videos every week. These can be TED Talks or other videos on YouTube and other trusted sources.
- Attending a certain number of inspiring conferences around the year both within and outside your areas of comfort.
- Signing up to enter a coaching relationship with a professional coach so that your self-awareness can be heightened as your learning is being deepened.
- Having an Hour of Power every day.
- Setting aside deliberate time to truly think every so often. I said THINK, not WORRY.
- Going back to reading/listening to classics — those unadulterated books and videos of long ago that are totally incomparable to most of today’s available resources.
- Stepping into new social circles where you are challenged to think better, stretch and grow. These could be professional bodies, common interest groups, or getting closer to specific individuals around you.
- Adopting a journaling culture to regularly capture your thought processes and follow the thread of happenings in your life.
- Finding your spiritual self, developing your relationship with God and ensuring you take this to robust levels.
- Joining an environment of willing vulnerability and accountability e.g. a band of brothers/sisters that share deep stuff so often, living life together in an authentic environment.
- Volunteering to serve on a committee/board/commission that requires you to offer your time and money freely for the common good.
- Spending more time with the less privileged, neglected and forgotten of this world all-around so as to gain life’s perspective while making life a bit more worth living.
- Regularly reconnecting to nature in special ways — maybe smelling scents from flowers, watching birds fly, gazing at blue skies, concentrating on green trees as they shake at the touch of wind, sitting by the riverside and listening to the sound of water, walking in the morning dew barefooted, etc.
- Intentionally keeping a Gratitude Inventory — a list of things you are thankful for every day — and frequently thanking those that make your life a bit better in every small or big way.
- Deciding to engage in more open, honest, authentic conversations every day with people around you, not the plastic smiles and cosmetic chats that often characterize most conversations.
- Reducing your expectations of others and increasing your own responsibilities towards them.
- Developing a habit of asking (empowering) questions and patiently listening to the answers with an inner ear, without preparing a response.
- Regularly scheduling time to sit or lie down doing nothing but just being with yourself, doing nothing — maybe meditation!
- (Add yours here…)
Whatever it is that will work for you, go right ahead and do it. Have more depth. Keep yourself reminded that to develop great depth is to give yourself a chance at reaching great height.
May you have an inspired, deep and high 2020! We hope to work with you (and your teams) in various ways. Here is to a great year ahead of us all.
Live. Love. Lead.
#YouWillManage
