2023 in Preview

We have less than two weeks before 2023.

Are you clear on what you want to focus on next year?

If a whole year seems too daunting, let’s make it more bite-sized. Next Month? Next quarter?

Clarity has often been very elusive in my experience — both in life and in business.

Funnily enough, I can usually see things clearly for others, but not so for myself.

When clarity is obscure, I lean heavily on my emotional intelligence, specifically self-awareness.

Self-awareness will play an essential role in your clarity journey because you will be able to assess the following:

• What you’re feeling in the moment
• How you want to feel
• What you need to achieve it

Even when you haven’t arrived at your ideal place, you can at least be aware of where you are.

For some, where you are isn’t ideal, but you can see how it contributes to your path because you’ve taken the time to understand it. Or at least reconcile with it.

I remember that during the early months of the pandemic, one of my clients was frustrated because they couldn’t go to the gym anymore.

I asked them, “Is it the gym you like, or is it exercising?”

They answered, “I enjoy exercising!”

We then devised a plan for them to use nearby parks and the high school outdoor track for running and other activities.

I understand that the feeling may not be the same because of the change in environment, but refusing to adapt to the situation may affect your well-being.

Staying rigid in your thinking and actions can cause you to feel stuck and eventually misaligned.

Agility can be a crucial element in finding alignment.

As you enter a new year, you may have to modify the self-care tools you use when the new year comes with different circumstances.

Unplanned events may occur, new systems at work may be implemented, and if you’re not in this state of mind where you can regulate yourself when change comes, adapting will be hard; therefore, alignment will be impossible.

If you've found yourself constantly stressed this year, assess the possible cause of it. It may be because you neglected your self-care practices. It could also be your environment: work environment, family, or friend circle.

If it’s work, be ready to assess what you are not aligned with.

• Is it the people?
• Is it the position?
• Is it the leadership?
• Is it the environment?

Sometimes it’s not the people but the position that has you stressed.

Taking time to assess how you feel in the different places you take space usually gives you insight into what you need to do.

Go.

Stay.

Modify.

Our feelings shouldn't lead us, but they can provide us with data that we can use to help guide us with what actions to take (or not).

I’m taking a break for the holidays. Going to sit still and find the clarity.

I hope 2023 will be a year of wellness, focus, and contentment for you and your loved ones.

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Farah Harris is a psychotherapist and the founder of WorkingWell Daily?, a company that approaches workplace belonging and well-being from a clinical and emotional intelligence lens. Farah has helped individuals and Fortune 500 companies develop healthier workplaces where employees want to stay and thrive because their leaders and teams have grown in empathy, self-awareness, social awareness, and cultural awareness.

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