“The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.” — Neale Donald Walsch
Motivational speaker Tony Robbins reminds us that, “Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.” So, it’s important to live this gift of life with gratitude, meaning and purpose. And, the best and simplest way to live a life of meaning and purpose are by embracing an attitude of gratitude, giving back to your community and serving others without expecting anything in return.
Forget resolutions. Write a letter to yourself each year instead
The beginning of the year is a natural time for reflection and the New Year is a good time to commit to leading your best life, explains Fast Company. Goals and resolutions, however, can be impersonal, says Scott Simon, author of Scare Your Soul: 7 Powerful Principles to Harness Fear and Lead Your Most Courageous Life.
To encourage people to hit the core of their goals and values, Simon suggests taking time to write yourself a letter.
“This is a letter that nobody else will see,” he says. “It’s not about resolutions; it’s about feelings and values, and it comes from your heart. Most people have probably never taken the opportunity to write a letter to themselves, but when you do it, magical things start to happen. You start to lead your life according to your own set of goals and wishes that that come from within.”
HOW TO WRITE YOUR LETTER
Your letter should talk about the year you want to have ahead. Simon says the letter should answer five questions:
- What are the fears you plan to tackle, those things you believe are holding you back?
- What are adventures you will embrace in the year to come?
- How will you connect or reconnect with others in your life?
- How will you plan to grow?
- What can you do to serve others?
“These are the key questions that seem to evoke the deepest reactions,” says Simon. “They are what bring up key issues. They’re not necessarily what you’re going to do in Q1 and Q2 for goals. It’s deep, internal, intimate value work.”
REVIEWING YOUR LETTER
Once you write your letter, refer to it over the course of the year. Reading your letter over again will become a key motivator throughout the course of the year. Since it’s personal to you, it will remind you what your key values and goals are.
View your letter as a gift. “Use it to push through and say ‘yes’ to something that may feel uncomfortable but that you feel is the right thing to do,” says Simon. “It can be an incredible upward spiral where one thing will lead to another, then all of a sudden you are leading your best life.”
Your letter should address each of these 7 areas of your life in which you want to win, succeed or grow in 2023!
- Spiritual
- Financial (Building Wealth and Financial Freedom)
- Career
- Intellectual
- Health and Fitness
- Family
- Social and Emotional Well-being
Setting goals in this many areas may seem overwhelming, but you can do it! You have the power to make significant change in your life, and even though that change won’t happen overnight, you can start today.
You should never lose sight that true happiness comes from fulfillment and the sense that life has meaning and purpose. The choice to pursue spiritual growth, health, wealth or fulfillment is personal. Whichever decision you make, you must live it.
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