So tell me, what is it that leads you to reflect on the day and say that was a great day? Is it the amount of stuff you got done? The magic moment with somebody special, the culmination of a concerted effort in order to deliver something monumental. Waiting until something monumental arrives does leave a lot of time in between those great days. When we hear about planning our day. It tends to be in relation to recording tasks and ticking them off when they’re done, but the reflections of our life when we’re near the end never mention the tasks that we completed.
Those near the end-of-life reflections tend to focus on people and the memories and the emotions we’ve indexed against those people. It’s the experiences we’ve had or the degree to which we’ve used our gifts that tend to be celebrated or lamented. So why don’t those day-planning systems focus on that?
WHAT AM i MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?
What if the question for the day was, what shall I curate today? The Cambridge dictionary defines the verb curate as being in charge of selecting events, objects, performers or films to be included in a festival or collection and yet we tend to assemble events and magic moments as by-products of our life rather than working out our life themes for each season of our life and then purposely curating them. So let’s invite in those magic moments by asking ourselves during our morning planning session, what am I most looking forward to?
how do I intend to feel today?
A nice follow-up question. Who do I need to be to do the things that will bring what I’m most looking forward to, towards me? Another aspect of what makes a great day is our overall feeling through that day. Start with the feelings you want to feel in this life.
Take a moment and write them down. What are they? Do you want to feel free, at peace, joyful, and confident? Tell me yours. Use these as your GPS. They’re here to guide you through your day.
So, if one of your guiding life feelings is joy, for example, think about the sorts of things that bring you joy, for on the spot, I need some joy infusion, create an image on your phone, whether it’s a holiday, that was your all-time fave, a little person, a four-legged companion, so that in a moment, you can look at that picture on your phone and instantly feel better.
Oh, and don’t just stop at one photo. Create a whole album for those things you need to get done that don’t bring your guiding life feelings forth. Discover ways that you can bring that emotion into your task. Doing your tax return, and it’s not filling you with joy, stack it with other things that do.
Put on your joy playlist and dance around your office while compiling receipts and assembling paperwork. Don’t just pay your bills on the 20th of each month, turn it into a money date. Find ways to bring your guiding life feelings into your day.
If you like to visualise or meditate, play with creating a scene in your mind that elicits your guiding life feelings and visit there often. When you reflect on your curated life:
- What have you achieved and what would you like to achieve?
- When you muse on what you would like to achieve? What’s closest to your heart right now?
That heartfelt achievement, that’s the project that’s worthy of your attention right now. So, when you think about that project, what five plays are the plays that will get you to the touchdown? When you think about those five plays, which one should you focus on right now?
Once you’ve got your next play, ask yourself what’s one thing that I can do now that will bring me closer to completing that play, and when will you do that thing?
How will I take care of myself today?
The final question centres around your self-care. Now, self-care is deeper than drinking your kale juice and going to your yoga class.
It’s more than a monthly massage. Self-care is about deeply and consistently loving yourself.
not negotiable. It’s not something that comes last. So start with how you talk to yourself. I mean, how you really talk to you, you know, the stuff that nobody hears but you.
Loving yourself so completely that you want to take care of yourself, you’re walking out the door and you catch sight of yourself in the mirror. What’s the first thought that comes to mind?
If it’s crappy I’m urging you to change the record and dm me if you’d like some help doing that. Promise yourself that yesterday was the last day that you punched down. The last time for that crappy self-talk. Tell your body how much you love you. Tell your body how grateful you are for everything he or she or they do to keep you alive. Things you don’t even need to think about. So there you have it.
RECAP OF TE THE Three powerful questions
Three powerful questions that, when asked, answered and acted upon will guarantee you an amazing day.
- What am I most looking forward to?
- How do I intend to feel today?
- How will I take care of myself today?
Yes, self-care is self-love, so start with, I love you, body. Thank you for everything you do for me.