January is generally the month where people have set, are still setting, or have already broken their New Year resolutions. So we’ve gotten clever about it, and started calling them fancy names in a fit of rebellion against the norm to convince ourselves to make them work. Hey, whatever floats the boat!

Then there are some of us who take it a step further.  In wanting to make sure we at least make a true effort to turn those sand castle dreams into something concrete, we develop goals that we hope are intelligent, and plot out different methods of action we can take to accomplish said intelligent goal. And to make sure there aren’t any security breaches we grab up accountability partners, coaches, mentors, self-help books, (and the beat goes on), because who wants to end the year on Häagen-Dazs in front of the TV declaring that the next year will be their year…again.

But then, you start looking around and everyone else seems to be moving faster than you, climbing higher heights, getting clients, feeling their pipeline with leads, getting the promotion, keeping their job! But what about you?!?

Now, while I can’t answer that question in particular, I think sometimes we have to stop waiting for life to give you a hand out and go create your own luck. At the same time, I know we experience different seasons in life (although it’s an honesty you don’t always want to hear when you’re down in the dumps). So, instead, I’ll touch on one particular area that I think builds us down; it’s a set back we establish at the very moment we map our game plan for the year.

You set some goals and tell folk and while you’re sharing yours, you think maybe you’re not showing up to life in a big enough way so you adjust, chuck your own ambition away and then you’re chasing a life that wasn’t what you wanted in the first place.

So, your Best friend wants to set a big, scary hairy out of the comfort zone goal to go to the slums in India and feed orphans, your goal was to get a bucket so you can have access to that job that pays a little more so you can stop living paycheck to paycheck. You see noble in her goal, not remembering the why of your own.

This year, I started off with a group coaching program, it was an affordable program that I believe will propel me forward to my best year yet. Last year despite the affordable price, I would not have invested in it; I was in a different season, and had to set other goals.

One of the things that attracted me to the program was that it was called something I was setting out to do this year; astonish myself. And so I encourage you to do the same, Astonish Yourself!  Dream your own dreams, set and adjust goals that make sense for you, create a life that speaks to you, dance your own dance, walk in your own purpose.

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” Bruce Lee

Until next time…

Did you enjoy reading this? Awesome! I’d like to invite you to sign up here to receive new blog posts in your inbox when they update…

Flick Credit:  Kyle MacKenzie