I. TOPIC: Soul-Success Check-Up
Given that there is so much out there that calls our attention and energy these days, whether it be
crisis in our communities, the economy or the more pressing and pervasive battle of world peace,
right now more than ever it may appear to some, to be "selfish" to place the emphasis back to ourselves to assess how we are doing in each of own lives in this moment. On the contrary, it is the opposite. It is more than an appropriate thing to do, it is necessary. When we are reminded at each corner how fleeting and precious life is, taking a careful look at how we are living our lives makes complete sense and there is no better time to give ourselves this type of "soul-success check-up" than at the top of the calendar year.
The way that I am defining "Soul-Success" has not changed since I coined this phrase two years ago. As a reminder, people who are striving for or who have achieved this state, are living in accordance with their values and unique identity, and are within striking distance of a well-balanced existence that affords them time for their priorities, personally and professionally. They spend time on energy-enhancing, peaceful and joyful things with a good amount of consistency, and generally are able to maintain a positive outlook about life. No one is perfect, nor are these people striving to be. They are comfortable with their achievements and their struggles, yet are on that exciting path of personal evolution, at a pace that meets with their own natural style and desires.
A simple way to assess how we are doing with living this concept of Soul-Success, which I have done for myself and with my clients, is to look at each area of life and to ask ourselves some key questions. I would have you apply whatever values or aspects that are important to you against each of these areas, to see how you are doing.
To be more specific, the areas of life to look at might be:
Personal Health/Well-Being
Intellectual Stimulation/Growth and Learning
Emotional Health
Family
Friends/Other Personal Relationships
Work/Business/Career Path
Spirituality
Hobbies
For each of these categories, the values or aspects to ask yourself about might be the following. You can always plug in others that are more meaningful to you as well.
Time
Energy
Joy
Forward Movement
Present Value or Learning
Peace
If you like to see results numerically you can assign a number on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being as you would like it) for each of these factors within a life area. You can get more specific and weight the rating based on how important that area is to you, yet I would say that by definition there is a well-roundedness in the idea of soul-centered success that implies one places value on multiple areas of life and what they touch. If you are more of a writer you should absolutely answer the question with a sentence or two to fully understand how you are doing in that area, relative to these factors. Another option is to use a number ratings and phrasing to answer your questions. You can play with how you do the assessment piece of this and make it your own.
An example of the questions for one life area might look like this--and then you would apply the questions similarly to the other life areas to complete the assessment.
Personal Health/Well-Being
· Do you spend the amount of TIME you would like on this?
· Are the activities you do ENERGIZING or DRAINING?
· Do you ENJOY what you are doing in this area? When yes and when no?
· Is it MOVING YOU FORWARD toward your goals?
· Are you LEARNING or seeing other intrinsic VALUE in this activity?
· Do you feel at PEACE during or after you engage in a related activity?
You might ask yourself a general question for each area as well, such as, "If I were to envision this area of my life to be as I would truly want it, what would I need to change, if anything?"
It is so important to define, revisit and hold out the ideal. Most of us know that our beliefs and intentions do create our reality, so if we don't do this for ourselves, we must question how will we be able to reach that ideal, or even come close? Better yet, when we live in accordance with some of these principles, we are encouraging connected to us in our communities, such as our mentees, students, colleagues, clients, children, mates, and friends to strive for the same. Placing this type of emphasis on ourselves not only allows us to live more of own dreams and encourages others to do the same, it actually enables us to be better at serving others, and makes time for more reaching out. This directly helps them to be the best they can be as well.
If we all were more pleased with our the various aspects of our lives in respect to time, joy, energy, learning and peace, or comparable values, we'd be propagating much more of an abundance and love mentality around us, and would have less capacity for the scarcity and fear that we wrestle with today. As you may know, it is impossible to feel opposite emotions such as fear and love at the same time.
Now there's another compelling reason to give yourself a check-up and focus on your ideal to begin with!
Happy New Year to each of you. May this be the year you get that much closer to your own unique vision of "soul-success!" My personal wish to you for much peace and joy within you and around you.