You’re probably noticing that I talk a lot about what you value in my emails and on social media like Instagram.
I’ve heard many times “you share what you most want to learn”. That’s certainly true for me. Because I found incredible energy from simply getting clear on my values, I grow my skillfulness living them and love sharing that insight with others.
It’s not that I didn’t have any. It’s that they were confused.
While I valued peace more than anything, I put other values like being busy, productive, efficient, effective, organized, prioritized above everything. Those mental actions led to obvious results – a very agitated and anxious mind and persistent dissatisfaction with whatever I was putting out.
Imagine you view your day differently.
Say you take off your work lens and put on a values lens. Your focus shifts to making your day a meaningful experience.
You get to decide.
The aim could be to lead, love, share, care, listen, or some other wonderful quality. Your whole day is infused with a wave that makes your mind positive.
But, so many mental habits can distract you from this approach.
How often do you wake up in the morning and work is the first thing on your mind? Or, how about worrying about some lingering conflict?
These are only thought patterns not something set in stone. Your familiarity is just too high. So, all you got to do initially is recognize what’s happening. Label it. Name it.
When you do recognize what’s leading your day, you’re free to take a different direction. When you choose to let your focus be value-driven you win every time.
Why?
Because…
1. What you value sets a meaningful wish for how your day unfolds.
Just suppose you wake up and you make your first thought what value you’d like to express during the day. Say it’s love. You’ve got a wish for everyone to be happy. Then, you move through your day putting this energy out when you’re commuting, at a cafe, in a meeting, at your desk, presenting your work, sending emails, in everything.
2. The focus is on the impact you’re making not what you personally achieve.
Your to do list takes a back seat. It doesn’t mean it goes away. It means that you lead from your heart. You focus on how you’re doing things during the day letting go of the results. You can step back from every activity you do and ask yourself how you can express the value or values you’ve chosen. Let the value pervade your space.
3. You’re starting from a positive, meaningful place…the night before.
This has an interesting twist. Your day actually begins the night before. You get clear on where your focus will be for the next day visualizing how things will transpire. This could easily take a minute or less. Think of yourself waking up ready to experience that day. So then, the first thought you have is positive and brings you peace of mind.
If you’re feeling any negative emotion, you’ll know that you need to put more energy here, build some new practices, and/or reach out for help.
Pulling this all together it makes me think of this boutique here in Paris. You can make your own cosmetics and lotions there using a personalized blend of essential oils. The same thing can be done with your day. Customize it. Flow values though it and the result is bound to be a positive, more peaceful mind.
Your Turn: Pick one value now that you could bring into your tomorrow. It could be anything like love, compassion, wisdom, leadership, empathy, enthusiasm, vitality. Write it down on a piece of paper and feel free to draw on it. Put it next to your bed before you go to sleep so it’s the first thing you see in the morning.
Please share in the comments the value you picked. It’ll connect your positive mind with everyone else.
And, it’d be great if you passed this along to anyone who’s looking to amp up the meaning of the time that passes in their day.
Lots of love.
Jennifer
When is the best time to relax?
Great question Lynn. If it’s physical rest, check in with your physical body. It’ll give you signs. You’ll notice these signs more by doing regular body scans. I’d recommend doing daily body scans when you wake up. If it’s mental relaxation, this is important whenever you feel a negative mindset take hold. Step back and take a few minutes to get back to a calmer place. It’s helpful to find a consistent way of doing this like with meditation or deep breathing. Enjoy finding the method that works best for you.
I’m choosing the value of knowledge/love of learning. This is an important one for me and I think could help me be more engaged at work rather than feeling like ‘ugh I have to do this or that.’
What a nice perspective to take – love of learning. Wishing you a feeling of engagement and a sense of “Great. I’m growing from this”.
Unfortunately, at my new office I’m feeling very rushed, micromanaged, and not as valued as I have in the past. On the days, like today, that I feel like I’ve hit a wall and question myself why I do what I do, I look at this post Jennifer. It reminds me of everything I love about my job regardless of the office I’m in. It reminds me that I’m in control of every appointment and every hour of my day. It reminds me that I can make the most out of it, if I so choose. It reminds me of everything that I can do to make someone’s day brighter and filled with more compassion and positivity. I’m heading to bed knowing tomorrow will be a much better day, because I’m choosing to make it into the kind of day that I like. It’s the kind of day that makes my patients’ day better as well. Thank you 🙂
That’s beautiful Stephanie. What a realization. I imagine everyone in your path will feel your positive energy. Thanks for being so honest and open to looking at things differently.