FALL INTO FOCUS – Implementing Change

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.

—F. Scott Fitzgerald

Reset | Reenergize | Renew

This COVID-19 crisis has radically disrupted and changed all of our lives, and for many of us, it is all we can think about. Remember, you are not alone. Because what is DIFFERENT here is that everyone has been impacted: your neighbor, mom, boss, and friends, as well as your counterparts around the world, are all going through something similar. The pandemic has created a lot of distractions that overwhelm and shift priorities. Massive disruptions interfere with your attention span and ability to focus. When your world is turned upside down, your day-to-day life schedule can become unrecognizable overnight. Not only are the demands higher but also the risk of health and economic upheaval are looming and real.

The economic uncertainty and rising awareness of social inequity and injustice are occurring. It’s a new world that will require individual awareness and effort, along with leaders and businesses willing to abandon outmoded behaviors, systems, and processes. And for all of us, it’s going to require clarity of focus, courage, and compassion.

Now more than ever, it is crucial for us to take time to focus on what is most important for our well-being and to make it happen. It is up to us to become what we want and who we want to be. How can we rest, reenergize, and refocus, and move from surviving to thriving so that we can prepare to enter into 2021 more resilient and ready for better times?

It’s important to remember that, as a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor,

Viktor E. Frankl noted,

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances,

to choose one’s own way.”

This is the challenge each of us must rise to!

Fall is the perfect time to reset, re-energize, and renew

from the carefree summer days.

Typically, fall is the time of year when kids go back to school. I always loved the first day of the school year—wearing a new outfit, sporting new shoes, and writing my name and subject in the left corner of a brand-new notebook. These back-to-school rituals gave me a fresh slate, another chance to begin again. I realize that this school year is looking very different, and the start for many has been rocky with the kinks of online education, organization of student pods, and alternative class structure. Parents and teachers, along with their students, have all been forced into a beginner mindset. So, while it is hard to see the long days of summer come to a close, I’m deeply excited about returning to a routine and focusing on the last few months of 2020.

It is my favorite season. For me, that crisp fall air signals that winter is around the corner and that I’d better hustle, as I have a lot I want to accomplish before the year-end. As always, I believe the best way to focus on what is important is to return to your values.

Live Your Values

When we know our values, we understand what motivates and drives us. When we build our lives around our values, we create a meaningful life. Finally, when we align our actions with our values, we are truly authentic. It’s a very satisfying and fulfilling way to live. And living your values could be the single most important thing any of us can do right now.

Here’s an exercise you can do to see if you are living your values:

List your values on a piece of paper or in your journal.
Give each value a score from 0 to 10 as to how well you are living that value in your life now (where 0 is not at all and 10 is full-out).
For the scores that are 8 or more—great!
For the scores that are 7 or less, ask yourself, “How could I express this value more in my life right now? What could I do differently or approach differently, so that I feel good about how I live this value in my life?”

Value Check If you value creativity, but you’re only managing to “go through the motions” right now, and your score is 4/10, ask yourself how you could be more creative during this time. What could you do to increase that score? Consider increasing your creative output by cooking, gardening, creating art, writing, helping your kids do something creative, or even watching a documentary about someone creative you admire.

Refocus on Your Goals

Keeping these answers in mind; begin to think about your goals. Are they still the same as they were a few months ago? Our dreams, desires, and priorities shift regularly—don’t miss an opportunity to stay in touch with yourself about these things! If your goals have shifted, this is the perfect time to dive deep and reset.

Take the time to evaluate the specific, daily changes you’ll need to make. Break your big goals down into smaller, actionable ones. Reconnect with your why. All of these things are crucial when it comes to refocusing on your goals.

Before you ring in a new year along with new goals and taking a step closer toward achieving your desired state, the ultimate manifestation of what is most important to you. For me, part of my desired state in the next three years is defining what my business will look like, what I will have accomplished personally and professionally during the next three years, and the integration of both. How has my business evolved in this new normal, and what will be different post-COVID? What lifestyle changes do I need to consider, if at all? What keeps me motivated and engaged to keep making all of this happen during unprecedented times? What is missing, and how will my strengths help me fill the gap?

How can you re-energize?

Sit and reflect on the areas of your life and business that need your attention the most. Identify if it’s your business or personal life that needs the most attention—and the improvement. Then focus your energy in that direction. Ask yourself a few questions to ensure you’re staying in alignment with your values and overall goals:

What areas of your business are you excelling in?
Did any areas of your business suffer during the summer months?
How can you direct your energy toward the areas that are suffering?
Which habits can you implement today to put you on the right track? Or which patterns would you like to change?
What are you most excited to improve right now?
Note that in these uncertain times, your employees are probably more afraid than ever to make a mistake. How are you treating them? What do they need from you?

Explore your Life Vision, Your Desired State

Rather than endlessly watching news streams, you can choose to focus on a bigger picture—your future. What do you want for the rest of your life? What would you be disappointed to not have done? Where do you envision yourself in three years, perhaps ten years from now?

Having a clear vision of how you want your life to be is a powerful motivator. A vision helps us work toward our goals, take action, and make the change. Soon, we’ll all be superbusy again—and a vision might be just what you need to stay focused!

Here are five questions to ponder or journal about to go deeper:

What do you desire or yearn for in life?
How do you want to feel?
What do you really, really want to be different in your life?
What would you want to have happened in the next three years for you to feel that your life is spectacular and for you feel great about yourself?
What’s your dream for this lifetime? Imagine you’re ninety years old and looking back on your life—what did you do that made you proud and happy?

This year, like no other, is looking different for all of us. Finding focus seems as unpredictable as a leaf flying in the wind without a destination. Before we know it, the holiday season will begin, and another year will have passed. Who knows what the holiday season will bring…….it’s a mystery. With that in mind, what is crucial for you to start bringing 2020 to a close and to begin 2021 with a jump start? Renew your focus and level up your motivation.

Now Is The Time

When it comes to staying in alignment with your goals, now is always the time to start. When you wait for the perfect time, you’ll quickly realize there simply isn’t one. Join me, and commit to finishing the year strong. Ditch the things that no longer serve you, because “being busy” isn’t something to celebrate.

Let’s focus our energy and make things happen!

Dan Sullivan (founder of Strategic Coach) published an article called the “Scary Times” Success Manual at the height of the financial crisis. He proposed ten mind shifts that I think are just as relevant today as they were then:

Forget about yourself, focus on others.
Forget about your commodity, focus on your relationships.
Forget about the sale, focus on creating value.
Forget about your losses, focus on your opportunities.
Forget about your difficulties, focus on your progress.
Forget about the “future,” focus on your today.
Forget about who you were, focus on who you can be.
Forget about events, focus on your responses.
Forget about what’s missing, focus on what’s available.
Forget about your complaints, focus on your gratitude.

I suggest reading that list a few times today…and maybe even copying it out, by hand, and tacking it up somewhere where it can be an ever-present reminder.

Honor the positivity of covidity by remembering to think possibility, not probability! Don’t limit yourself and your ideas because you don’t believe something is likely. Instead, think it’s possible—and even if you don’t get all the way there, you may get close, or even find something better along the way!

Are you committed to focusing on the things that matter most to YOU?

If you don’t know your values, now is a great time to learn what they are.

I’m offering a Values Kickstart Session to pick up the basics, and a Values Review Session to get you on your way to the next level. I would love to get on the phone with you for 20 minutes to get clear on one of your values and help to center your focus on the life you want to lead.

If you’re feeling a different direction, I’ve got a Business Bounce Back Plan for you, to build resilience for a new normal. Whatever your course, email me to get started.

The time is now.

Arianne