Sink or Swim? How Will Your Emotions Affect Your Success in 2020?

Monday, January 6, 2020

Welcome to the first official work-day of 2020!!!

(C’mon, be honest…even if you were at work last Thursday and Friday – while everyone else was enjoying an extended vacation – you know you skated through each day. Today is the first day that’s official.)

Oh God. It’s the first Monday of the new decade.

The start of another 10 years of just doing your job.

Living to support someone else’s dream.

Mortgaging your future one dismal 9 – 5 at a time.

Feeling frustrated yet? Overwhelmed? Underwater? Want to scream?

Good.

Now take those feelings and put them to use. Get focused.

It’s that time of year where everyone else is asking, “What do you want to accomplish this year?”

Or, they are telling you to set your goals (or set the goals THEY think you should be going for…thank you managers, executives, friends, and family members. Now just kindly fuck off.)

I’m not going to ask you what you want to accomplish. I truly don’t care. Goals are personal – they are for you. I have no judgement about them.

What do I care about? How do you want to feel this year?

That doesn’t mean you complete this oh so trite sentence, “I’ll be (emotion) when (event) happens.”

That’s chasing an outcome. It is making your internal sense of well-being dependent on an external event over which you have not control.

What happens if that event never occurs? What happens if it occurs in a way you didn’t expect?

How will you be then?

Even if you are happy in that moment, for how long will you hold onto that experience?

What will be the next imaginary windmill that you will give power to so that you can feel like you are pursuing a dream?

Stop making your happiness/joy/empowerment based on external events.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR EMOTIONAL STATE

Instead, complete this sentence, “I am going to feel _______ as I actively work toward my goal of _______.”

Why is feeling so important?

For two reasons.

One, if you aren’t feeling good about your outcome, you won’t take action to achieve it.

Think about it. Are you going to actively pursue a goal that makes you feel no better off, or worse than your current state?

Of course not.

Two, when you take control of your emotions, you can realize that you are the one choosing how you feel…not your spouse, not your kids, not your boss…YOU.

Once you are in control of yourself, external things like other people and events won’t affect you as severely. You’ll choose to stay on track…or not. It’s your choice.

When you harness your emotional fuel and target yourself toward a goal, you will be more likely to achieve it than if you just meander aimlessly (like you are probably doing now).

What do you need to break through this year?

Who are you ready to be?

Are you ready to go from feeling like you are underwater to being on top of the mountain?

Are you ready to step up and take control of yourself in 2020?

If you answered “YES,” contact me today.