At the beginning of the year, I wrote myself a list of questions intended to help me have a great year:
QUESTIONS FOR 2019
–Yours Truly, circa a year ago
How can I keep a clear my mind no matter what is occurring in my life?
How can I stay in charge of my mood and my mind state?
How can I stay focused continually on feeling good?
How can I forgive myself ongoingly if things get uncomfortable, or if I make mistakes or get disappointed, even with myself?
How can I stay present and in my power no matter what is going on for other people around me?
How can I make peace with myself, and accept who I am, what I want, who I want to be, and celebrate and allow that?
Notice how these questions are not about how much I wanted to earn, or how many such-and-suches I wanted to attain/do/sell/win. Personally, I have found such numbers-driven goals extremely stressful and ultimately counter-productive. Instead, these questions are about creating a positive internal experience… they are about finding personal alignment. They are about operating from a positive, friendly mindset towards myself (first of all!), and being kind and generally good to myself.
The funny thing is, although I saw these questions many times throughout the year, I didn’t focus on them a whole lot. Instead, I spent all year doing things that were satisfying: reading, writing, thinking, resting, jogging, meditating, and hanging around positive people (both in person and through recordings and books).
Basically, I just set about to feel good 🙂
It is working. Three days ago I accomplished a personally significant (and admittedly objectively cool) goal: I went on TV for the 6th time in the past 3 1/2 years… and actually enjoyed myself.
Also, a couple of weeks ago I shared a list of personal victories I have had in 2019. And while they might not be turning heads, each of these victories contributes to my satisfaction and joy in life.
I guess the point is, the victory was internal first. It was in how my mindset shifted so that I started asking myself the above types of questions. A few years ago, I wasn’t asking those questions. The answers I was getting were not nearly as satisfying.
What a difference asking the right questions makes!