Do you have a personal motto? How about a slogan? Not a public one for marketing purposes, but a personal or professional guide that reminds you of what you believe, what you are working toward or what is behind your goals. I’m not talking about a complicated mission statement. My apologies to all the Covey followers that have spent hours honing and perfecting their personal, professional and family mission statements. I think the process of asking yourself what’s important, what your value’s are and what your purpose is a valuable one. But does it have to be so complicated?
Why do we habitually make everything in our lives so complex? Do we need a paragraph long recitation on our purpose? Do we need a spreadsheet of goals with accompanying habits to make lasting change? Are we making our lives unnecessarily difficult? What if we spent that time working or playing instead of making charts and diagrams? Blasphemous right?
Call me a rebel, a non-conformist, but I think we’re making life harder than it has to be. I include myself in this insanity; this has been my modus operandi my entire adult life. I get it, but I’m done. It doesn’t work. It just causes stress and overwhelm. It doesn’t need to be that way.
I declare 2011 a year of reform. I am reforming my perfectionist, over-planning, over-thinking ways and adopting a simpler mindset.
I did not set any resolutions or goals this year, just very simple intentions. I thought about what I wanted out of life, where I wanted to go professionally and how I could be more in line with my purpose and what really matters.
My husband gets a lot of credit for this mental shift. When I asked him what his goals for this year were, he said very simply, “To be better at the end of the year than I am now.” Huh? That’s it? Really? What does that mean? For him it means to be a little bit healthier, run a little bit farther, save a little more money, spend a little more time with our kids and be a little bit more loving towards me. I can get behind that and what’s more I can see the wisdom in that. This guiding motto “To be a little better” is powerful in its simplicity. It defies every S.M.A.R.T. rule of goal setting, but what’s more important, to follow the rules or get to where you want to be?
But how do I apply this in practical terms?
Figure out what your personal or professional slogan is – It can change each year or remain the same, that’s up to you. It can be a word or a phrase, but make it simple enough to implement and broad enough to apply across the board.
Your slogan will be your compass, your focus and your decision-making guide all rolled into one.
I decided on a personal focus this year of “Live Consciously, Practice Acceptance, and Embrace Joy.”
Now I ask myself each day, Am I paying attention to my life? Am I judging and being critical or am I accepting? Am I feeling joy, having fun and enjoying life?
If you’ve read my about page, then you know my company tagline is Productivity, Progress, Purpose. So I thought about how do I accomplish that tagline? How do I make that tangible and use it to get results?
“Keep it Simple, Make Time Count”
That’s it. Just that simple. For this year at least, my professional goal and focus will be to make things as simple as possible and make my time count. You will see that philosophy reflected in my blog posts, articles, tips, strategies and product offerings.
Doesn’t that sound better than complicated goal worksheets?
Visit our community discussion forum and share what your motto, slogan or intention is. I love to hear what others are focusing on.
Think about how productive you are those rare occasions when you are working alone, uninterrupted. Perhaps early in the morning, late at night, behind a closed office door or working from home with no interruptions, your phone switched off, and your e-mail in-tray empty, don’t you get a lot more done?
Your guide to living well in every area of life. Freelance writer, Life Fulfillment Guide, Idea Curator, Life balance mentor, Productivity junkie, Book Addict. 
