Here’s to a New Year’s resolution…with Purpose!

 How about a new year revisit of purpose to keep yourself and your team energised, focused and happy? We often put in place new year’s resolutions, and, if you’re like me, you may have already compromised on one (well, getting up half an hour earlier every day to exercise did happen once or twice!) Let’s make this year’s count.

Have you made a new year’s resolution or two? Have you planned out what the year will look like for you in work and business? If 2020 taught us anything, it’s the truth in the quote,   “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. (translated from the original Scottish Robert Burns’ poem To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With the Plough)

New year’s resolutions are a great start, but we know their limitation is that many are abandoned come February. Let alone having them quashed by a pandemic! An alternative (or addition) to a resolution, might be energising yourself by taking some time to rethink your purpose at work and in life.

Passion and purpose are two of my favourite concepts and I believe are central to being happy and fulfilled. Passion, of course, is about emotion – what you love, makes you happy. I’ve wanted to work with horses since I was a child, so it’s safe to say that our leadership development coaching with horses allows me to work with passion. I feel really blessed.

Finding your purpose is more about working out the why of what you do. Mine, for example, is helping people be truly authentic.

I love being able to see the direct impact of our work. Like when a person realises a life-altering truth about themselves – what I call an ‘aha’ moment. Or, when we can see the social impact our work has, such as our new online ‘Be You’ Teen Empowerment program to help develop crucial skills of confidence and self-awareness in young people.

In a way, you might say my purpose is helping others with their purpose.

Working with purpose

Working with purpose leads to a happier work life, better functioning teams and superior leadership.

Research suggest that most people value meaning in their work, and it can in fact be a greater motivator than other elements like money. And, for leaders, a big factor in the quality and success of their leaderships is how they are able to also help their workplaces become ‘abundant’ with meaning and purpose.

Thinking about purpose look different for everyone, depending on who you are, what you want and your personal circumstances. We might not all be 100% living up to our purpose – in fact it’s a work in progress and may evolve over time. So, examining your purpose in the new year may help:

• Remind yourself why you do your job so you can enter the new year with enthusiasm and drive
• Shift your focus for the year to align more closely with your purpose
• Set goals designed to lead you towards your purpose, or further into your purpose
• Consider making a job or career change which gives you more purpose
• Take up a new activity, hobby or learning/course which helps you find or increase your feeling of purpose

So, how aligned are you feeling to your purpose in 2021? Do you need to take some time to think?

What is your purpose? Let me know in the comments.

Need some discovering your passion and purpose? Why not register for our free upcoming Wholistic Leadership webinar! Send us an email info@lepd.com.au