Where is Your Compass Pointing? 

Have you ever noticed that when you are driving a car, you tend to steer towards what you are focusing on?  Hence, the importance of ‘look at where you want to go.’  Well, this happens in life too.  Most of us tend to look at what we don’t want in life and especially at the beginning of the New Year:  

“I don’t want this debt.” 

“I never exercise enough.”  

“I wish I didn’t have these aches and pains.”    

What you focus on, however, acts as a compass.  So if you focus on the negative aspects, you steer your life in the direction of what you don’t have.  Another simple example of this concept is often seen in sports.  Let’s take golf for instance.  Golfers will tell you that if you focus on not wanting to hit your ball into the water or the trees, that’s precisely where the ball will go.  Instead, you need to focus on hitting the ball toward your target

Checking Your Compass? 

Take a few minutes to think about what you tend to focus on most days.  It won't be hard because these are the thoughts that occupy our mind most often.  And then take a look at the past year.  Did it represent what you were thinking of most often?  In other words, if you are always worried about your job and how much you dislike it, did things at work change for the better? Did you get any new opportunities or make any connections that might steer you toward a change?  Most often we don’t see positive changes when we focus on what we don’t like. 

Deciding Where you want to be

So why not take some time to set your compass to what you want for 2019? Don’t focus on how it will happen or when it will happen, just what you want. And every time you feel the stress of not having something, re-visit your vision.  The more you think about what you want, the more likely you will see opportunities in life that can help move you towards your goal.  It may be a new connection you make when you are grabbing a coffee or an opportunity that pops up on your email.  It could even be a new educational course that interests you and opens up a whole other set of opportunities.  The possibilities are endless.  

There are many ways to set your compass.  Many people are familiar with vision boards and journaling.  The exercise below uses a combination of techniques that I have found personally very useful.  So make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and try the activity below. And may 2019 be your most fantastic journey yet!

Setting your Compass for 2019

1. Grab a pen and notebook and set your phone to silent.

2. Find a quiet place to sit uninterrupted for 30 min.

3. Bring to mind a time in your life that brought you joy.  Now with your eyes closed focus on that even for a good 5 minutes. Really focus on the feelings of joy from that event and notice how that joy resonates throughout your body.  The more you visit that memory, the more joy you feel.  (This gets you in the right vibration for the rest of the exercise) 

4. After 5 minutes, turn your attention to your goals.

5. Visualize how you would like to see you life in 1 year.
   
   During the next part of the exercise, you will focus on one life category at a time: relationships, leisure, health, work & community.  

   In your journal, write down the first heading: “relationships” then begin to think of what you want in your relationships 1-year from now. 

    How would you like to see your relationships with family or friends grow and  change? Be specific. Focus on all the details: how you would feel, what you are wearing, what activities you are engaged in. 

6. Next, start writing in your journal describing all you see and feel.  Don’t worry about spelling or making it look pretty.  Just write it down.  Using the positive emotions you feel is very important to this exercise. For example: “I feel so blessed enjoying family dinners together most days of the week. We are all having such great conversation, laughing and having so much fun…..”. Write what comes to you and focus only on what you WANT.

7. Then move on to the next category on the list: “leisure” and repeat the steps above.  Continue until you have finished all the categories.

Setting Sail for New Directions::

And there you have it!  Your 2019 compass is set.  Refer to the journal or even the visualizations each day, and anytime you feel like you need to steer life back with your compass.