Forget about the “new year, new me” cliche. Focus needs to be on New Year, Renewed Purpose. Everyone desires deeper purpose in their work. On our first day our ambitions were so grand and our purpose so clear. What happened?
With the start if the new year, many people are looking to refresh and renew their perspectives on work. You have made new resolutions and new goals for the coming months. However, after a few weeks or months of challenges it can be difficult to retain the zeal with which we started this new year. You want to have deeper purpose behind your work, but it’s not easy when faced with the daily minutia, continual workplace shifts, and all the ever-present challenges.
Purpose is driving factor in many of our lives. It brings clarity to our actions and meaning to our efforts. When you have a deeper purpose behind your work it gives you the miraculous ability to overcome obstacles and inspire others to do great things. Purpose is a phenomenal thing to have, but it is not easy to maintain. Purpose must be refreshed, revisited, and renewed often. There is no better time to renew your sense of purpose than at the beginning of the new year!
It is easy for people to forget what doing a great job in your role means to those around you. Your community, coworkers, colleagues, clients, and community all depend on you. However, it can be easy to forget this when faced with an endless supply of unread emails, new deadlines, and workplace policy changes. The simplest way to renew your sense of purpose is to follow something I call the Back Pocket theory.
The back pocket theory is a small exercise to help you recenter the most important things in your personal and professional life. It helps you to renew your purpose and bring greater fulfillment to your efforts. Complete the small exercise below and reference it when you are facing new challenges.
1. Write down three things you are proud of
accomplishing. Any three things. Feel free to boast as
much as possible, this is just for you. When you
realize the amazing things you have accomplished
before, it make achieving other great things seem
more attainable. (EG: I ran a half marathon, I bought a
house, I earned a promotion, etc.)
2. Write down three things you are thankful for. If
everything else fell away, what would you consider as
the things that make you smile and feel happy about.
When you have things to be thankful for, then daily
challenges and nuances have less impact on your
emotional wellbeing. (EG: my friends, my family, my
health)
3. Write down 3 huge goals you have for the next
three years. Think really big! When you have
something to aim at, you can be assured that your
efforts are more focused. Da Vinci said that “mans
fault is not that he aims too high and he misses; it’s
that he aims too low and hits his target.” (EG: I’m
going to buy a vacation home in Florida, I’m going to
increase my business to $3 million, I’m going to run a
full marathon)
If you find yourself getting stuck and want a way to break through the feeling of complacency, check out this article: How to Break Complacency