How will you know you've lived a life of meaning and success?
It's a new year. Your Joyful Career coach is here!
Hello, friend! It’s me, Karla. I’m writing to you from the beautiful Baja California, Mexico coast. After a few days of ferocious wind that nearly ripped off our camper’s AC unit, the water is calm and the sun is out, saying hi to a brand new week.
Over the past month, I’ve been hosting “ 2023 Visioning” sessions for my coaching clients. I always start with a dramatic proposition:
“Imagine that the wiser, elder version of you is sitting next to you. Your wiser elder self is the version of you who has lived a full life, gained great experience, and wants to share her wisdom with you. You ask her ‘How do you know at your age that I’ve lived a life of great meaning and success?’”**
This week’s coaching question is:
How will you know that you’ve lived a life of great meaning and success?
You don’t need to imagine yourself on your deathbed (though that dramatic visual effectively wakes us up to what’s really important). Simply, fast-forward a few years or decades into the future to pinpoint what truly matters.
Start this year with the end in mind
This month, in The Joyful Career, we’re focusing on change because the start of a new year is, inevitably, a time to plan new things. We dream about getting healthier, growing our business, making more money, changing jobs, and perhaps moving to a new country or a new house.
In the end, which of those dreams and goals really matter?
If you know what really matters in the end, taking action on that is no longer optional.
A few years ago, when I first visualized my future self, future Karla had a lot of crow’s feet wrinkles. I knew that they were a sign of a lot of laughter and a life well-lived. My future self told me that I had lived a life of meaning and success because I had a lot of love and adventure in my life.
I reviewed my present reality: I was lucky to have love but lacked adventure. I felt stuck in a city where every week felt the same. So, I took the plunge: I bought a camper that would become the home in which my husband and I now permanently travel.
That year, I took action to change my life on something that I knew, in the end, would really matter: adventure.
In the end, what will really matter to you?
This week, I invite you to gift yourself a quiet moment to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and imagine your wiser, elder self next to you:
What is she wearing?
How old is she?
What type of energy is she giving off?
How does she know that, in the end, you’ve lived a life of meaning and success?
Where does she think you need to spend your time in the next year, in the next three months, and in the next week?
What does she think is important for you to do today?
Thank your future self for the loving wisdom. Then, open your eyes.
Love your life now, then change
Before you change anything in your life based on your future-self vision, look around you:
If feeling loved will matter in the end, notice how you’re loved now.
If having a healthy body and mind will matter in the end, notice how you’re nurturing your health now.
If enjoying life will matter in the end, notice how you’re enjoying life now.
If making an impact on the lives of others will matter in the end, notice how you're making an impact now.
If feeling happy will matter in the end, notice how you’re happy now.
Setting goals and making plans for the future feels good, but you can also feel good knowing that your future and current self may not be as different as you think.
***
After you acknowledge the amazing gifts already in your life that align with your future self, now figure out what needs to change. Ask yourself:
What goals are you working toward right now that, in the end, won’t really matter?
What must you work on right now that, in the end, will really matter?
What small step can you take this week to focus more on #2 (above)?
If you know what really matters in the end, taking action on that is no longer optional.
Next week I’ll tell you how to develop a compass to help you make decisions aligned with what really matters to you.
Thank you for reading this first installment of The Joyful Career. Have an amazing week!
**Connecting with your wiser, elder self is a technique that I borrow from Positive Intelligence, a framework that all my clients learn when they work with me to strengthen their mental fitness.
P.S. Could you use some clarity on how to create the most meaningful year ahead, focusing on what truly matters? Schedule a “2023 Visioning” session with me before the end of the month! Readers of this newsletter will receive a free values assessment and a $100 discount (use coupon code “JOYFULCAREER”).
A few things that brought me joy in 2022
Periodically, I’ll share with you a few little reads and things that are *TRULY* giving me joy in my life and career.
Read: I love historical fiction novels about strong women and this book was one of my favorites in 2022.
Listen: Did you know I co-host a podcast? My friend Natalie and I interview women who are redefining and pursuing success in ways that bring them joy (Guess what? The author of the book above is joining us in our upcoming season!)
Meditate: Daily meditation with this community has helped me start my days with greater calm over the past year. You can join it too!
You are most welcome!
Hi
So wonderful you write a topic. Beautiful you shar your adventures experience. Beautiful place. You have good knowledge. I am so happy!
Thanks!