Start, Stop, Continue

This time of year is a reflective time for me. I feel the pace of things slowing down. I welcome the opportunity to thing about the year and begin to think about how I will shift for the year ahead. 

For me, making time to truly reconnect with myself at my core allows me to do several things. First, I get to shift if I've drifted too far from my values and core. How do I know if that's happening? For me it's very visceral... I physically feel out of sorts, sluggish, tired, unfocused, a tad crabby --- scrunchy --- if you ever ask me how I'm feeling and I tell you scrunchy, this is what I"m talking about.

Second, I still have time to realign with goals that may have gotten pushed aside. I still have a couple months to make progress before year's end. 

Third, I get to start thinking about all that I HAVE done and celebrate in small and not so small ways. For me, the feeling of pride is a great motivator. I love taking inventory of what I've set out to do and bask in what I've accomplished. And by the way, making a decision to change things up also gets celebrated--- probably even more so, because it's sometimes harder to make a change once you've made a decision about something and committed to it. The difference between making a decision to change course versus simply quitting is something only you can define--- BUT, sticking with something that ISN'T working.... is that what you want to celebrate?

So here is a simple way to take start going down that path. Think about your own year... the things you set out to do. Figure out where you are and how you're feeling. Really take stock. Once you've done that, think about what you'd like to Start, Stop & Continue. This is a tactic people use on projects, and you may have even used it yourself.

You want to think about all the things that you're doing or have changed that are working well.... those are the things you want to CONTINUE.

You also want to think about things you're doing that aren't working..... figure out a way to STOP doing those things. A BIG example of this for me is my decision to stop having a retail store front. A SMALL example would be having a monthly set date with a friend for coffee... it turned out that even though we both thought it would make our lives easier and we'd see each other more, it actually was stress-inducing. Rarely could we make the date and ended up rescheduling most of the time. That date idea (for us) had to STOP.

And finally, what do you need to START doing? What kind of feedback have you heard? What would make your life better? And while it can be fun to think of all the great things you could start doing, try to limit it to 1 or 2. Begin that, work it, then go from there. 

Getting into this mindset of reflection will prepare you for bigger planning and you'll have lots to start from.

What is one thing your going to Start, Stop or Continue?

​xo
 

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