Looking for more freedom and flow? - those strategies will help you get there

Ding Dong the New Year is here! Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

Now let’s talk serious stuff! I ain’t a big fan of making the kind of New Year's resolutions that will last mid-January before life happens or when we realize they come with a cost (time, money, focus) that we cannot commit to.?

But, as a human on a mission for more growth, I do appreciate the focus and structure that making goals can bring.? So to honor the start of this new cycle, I am sharing these 8 simple long-term and sustainable strategies to help spark incremental growth in your career and life.

Examine Your Decision-Making Filters??

Many choices we make, both personal and professional, are filtered through biases we don’t even realize we have. Without self-awareness, fears of the unknown or desire for safety can unconsciously keep us playing small, sticking with the status quo rather than taking risks toward expansive visions of what’s possible.?

This year, I invite you to start noticing when your decisions come from restrictions and self-inflicted limitations rather than from expansion. Being mindful of your motivations and your “whys” can help you pivot from fear-based thinking into courageous actions aligned with your goals.

Craft Your “Not To Do” List??

The typical January ritual involves identifying everything we want to accomplish in the coming year. But yay? another item on the to-do and hello overwhelm and frustration.?

What to do?? delegate or eliminate and define key areas where you will say no to. Find where your energy vampires are hiding (mental, physical, emotional). This year, commit to protecting your time for what matters most and to choose what energizes you first.

Don’t over plan evveryythiing??

?Having a vision and structure is the first step to any endeavor, otherwise, we end up directionless - a sure recipe for procrastination.? But overly focusing and attaching to specifics is not good either.? Expectations create pressure on self and others; wanting to control every aspect can end up keeping you rigidly fixed on pre-defined paths rather than opening to new opportunities.?

When we permit space for the unexpected to happen, new opportunities will organically happen, not necessarily in the form we wanted (or obsessed over!) but in a way that will help us grow and expand.? Keep your eyes peeled!

Progress Requires Imperfect Action??

If you want to expand, be more, and evolve, then growth will ask you to take courageous, calculated risks through action. What is scary but exciting? What have you feared for so long knowing that there could be liberation on the other side? What do you fear losing? What can you do about it?

Your next action may not give you the resolution you are seeking, but it will get you starting on the path for more and better.

Treat Your Career as an Experiment

Meaning! Adopt a more curious perspective when it comes to your career journey rather than pigeonhole yourself with a title or an expertise. Learn new skills, even when they are not directly linked to what you do.??

And when doubts or restlessness arise, reframe your experience.? You have more options than you think.??

And the less you focus on what is not happening, the more you will on new opportunities.

Become CEO of Your Career??

Layoffs, stagnation, career detours, recession, stuff will happen during a career, and there is so much that is not within your control.? What is, however, is to shift your mindset and become the CEO of your career.? Rather than waiting on others to determine your next steps, clinging to outdated loyalties, expecting your boss/manager to have your back; this year, commit to taking charge as CEO of your career.?

Get crystal clear on your core motivations, and keep in mind your values and aspirations. The more you embrace yourself as the driver of your career, the more freedom and control you will feel in sculpting the career path you desire.

The Importance of Community?

Time to stop thinking in isolation.? First, it’s not pleasant to feel that the whole world is against you (and it’s unlikely to be true).? Second, the more allies you have at work and support you know outside work, the more likely you will be to feel more fulfilled in your life.?

Surround yourself with a supportive environment, mentors, sponsors, and friends, to help you accelerate your growth through inspiration and accountability.?

Grow Your Consciousness Muscle

Finally, this year, let’s commit to less life on autopilot, and to be open to living more consciously. Beyond the usual mindfulness practices, it’s about strengthening your capacity for self-awareness and presence, taking purposeful and aligned actions.

Because this new year is also about finding our freedom and agency in our relationships and careers - to stop betraying ourselves and our dreams to please others, but to commit to doing better, as we see fit.

? 2024 Mayda Poc Coaching. All Rights Reserved. This document is provided for informational purposes only.