It doesn’t take a lot of strength to hold on, it takes a lot of strength to LET GO. Full Stop, read that again. This quote by J.C. Watts is guiding my 2021! As we stand at our New Year start line, we all have some unfinished business from 2020 that we know we need to drop, ditch, release or simply LET GO of in order to move forward this next year.
Letting go…
Old habits, attitudes that keeps us stuck, toxic people, over consuming social media, lack of priorities, overcommitting oneself, not speaking our truth, not speaking up, inability to say no, do it all yourself, disorganization, indecision, procrastination, failure to plan, setting too many goals, unclear objectives, attempting to do too much- the list goes on and on and I can own a handful of these as well! I call these the self-inflicted attitudes, behaviors & actions that we keep hanging onto even though we know they truly no longer serve us.
What are you committing to LET GO of and change up?
If you had a chance to read our Look Back to Look Ahead blog you may have gone through our 2020 reflection questions which focused less on our accomplishments and performance achieved in 2020 and emphasized more the lessons learned, letting go, and finding meaning during challenging times. Of all the tools in our leadership toolkit, reflection is one of our top picks; it helps us move from experience to understanding. Yet the challenge with reflection is when we don’t move past ‘understanding’ and leave all the new teachings in our pretty journals :) Thomas Jefferson first said knowledge is power. For me knowledge is power when you take what you learn and actually apply it. When we simply ruminate on the lessons gained yet do nothing with it, we can remain stuck and that knowledge may become powerless. When we take our new knowledge and find the courage to apply it, that my friends is the recipe on how to empower oneself.
“Knowing what you need to do in life takes wisdom, pushing yourself to do it takes courage”
Forward the Action: Below are some simple yet powerful tools for your tool box to help you take your new lessons learned from 2020 and apply in 2021. If you have not done our reflection exercise, you can find it here to go through before advancing through the below. Paired best with wine/espresso/herbal tea (your choice) turn the page on your 2020 and start writing a fresh page this 2021.
What will I let go of this 2021? (Pick top 3)
In order to let go:
I will STOP …
I will START…
I will do more of…
I will be more…
I wont try to be…
I will hold myself accountable by…
If I commit to letting go of (fill in the blank) what would success look like for me by:
March 2021?
June 2021?
Come up with 3 actions I will take this week to BEGIN.
Come up with a monthly plan to track and monitor what you commit to STOP and START doing to set yourself up for success.
“You want to fly, you’ve got to give up that sh!t that weighs you down”
The 2021 Start Line: We hope these thought-provoking questions help you begin to strategize your attack plan for finally ditching one thing from your self-inflicted list. Once you are able to tackle one, you will find yourself chipping away at more items on your list. I have spent a lifetime doing my own work, learning from others and working with others on how to take the lessons learned and forward the action to make it stick! In the upcoming months I will be doing a deeper dive into more leadership development tips and tools. Sign up here if you’d like to receive these blog posts straight to your inbox and comment and share your insights on letting go!
Also check out how The Warmi Project gives back; supporting indigenous women in Ecuador through sales of vibrant handmade accessories! These makers, movers, and shakers taught me some of my most powerful leadership lessons that you will find woven into all of our blog posts, tools and leadership work. 100% of all sales of these items go back to the women in Ecuador. Browse, enjoy and share out our Warmi Etsy Shop!
Mil gracias y Radiate the W!
Abrazos,
Dana
‘Right Foot Forward’ 18,000+ feet- Cayambe summit - Ecuador, South America