I spent way too much time on my phone last week. It was constantly buzzing with shipment notifications that I kept checking while in meetings and on calls. Tracking my holiday deliveries has become a regular part of my workday. The line between my personal time and work time is blurry.
For the next few weeks, many of us will be experiencing a noticeable shift in focus from our work lives to our personal lives. While we keep physically showing up to work everyday, our hearts and minds are at home making holiday plans and worrying about our to-do list. But that’s how it should be, because while I have a job that matters to me, I also know that I am more than a professional title.
We can’t know what we want until we know who we are.
This week’s intention
This is the third post in our series on end of year reflection. Each post has two questions to help you focus on what you truly want from the year ahead. Week 1’s questions explored meaning and curiosity. Week 2’s questions focused on habits and talents. For this week, you will be accessing how you’ve changed in the last year and who you want to be in 2019.
My intention is to set aside dedicated time for reflection.
This week’s questions are:
Are there any parts of my identity, image, or professional brand that are not authentic or true to who I am right now?
AND
What parts of myself do I want to express more fully next year?
These are hard questions to answer, perhaps harder than any of the others. When I sit down to think about these questions, I have to be honest about how I am showing up in the world. I have to dig deeper and ask myself:
- What used to be true about what interests me, what I think, what I enjoy, or how I feel that is no longer true? Am I willing to show up in the world as the new me?
- What am I revealing and/or holding back that creates a warped or slightly less than genuine portrayal of who I am?
- Am I ready to fully bring my gifts into the world?
This is heavy stuff. I’ll be sitting with the two main questions all week and I hope you will be too. Your answers are worth the effort. Knowing how you want to show up in the world has a major impact on the work you can get done in 2019.
We’ll have more questions next week. See you then!