PRRing into Spring....... here's how.

Spring is breaking out all over right now. You can see it in the light intensity and stretch in the days. Trees and plants have burst into activity and the birdsong is becoming intense.?Spring brings new promise, and a feeling that the hinderances of winter weather are soon to ease.

For business folk and especially entrepreneurs, it’s arrival coincides with the end of Q1. Very often these last few weeks are the focus intense activity as we seek to match our goals and deliver our targets.

On a personal note, those new year resolutions, made back in January, are starting to wane (or perhaps not if you are a determined soul).?

But knowing that the year is already 3 months already means that it is still not too late to take remedial action to address failings in our personal or business achievements. The bottle is still three quarters full. There is time available to adjust, adapt and re-assess where it’s needed. Time to PRR yourself into action.

What’s PRR and why now ?

I like to use the coming of Easter as a time to pause and to re-assess my earlier goals and targets. After 3 months, we can assess whether some targets were over optimistic or perhaps unnecessary. Our personal needs may have changed also with the hindsight of 3 months activity.

According to a study published in the US Journal of Clinical Psychology, only 46% of people who made New Year’s resolutions were successful. That means over half of the people who set a goal for the new year will fail!?To prevent ourselves becoming lumped into the 54% now is a good time to take time out, pause, reflect and re-assess.

With a thorough review of where we are and if we are still on the right course we can tweak our goals and actions for the remaining part of the year. Three months are sufficiently short and also long enough to get a better-informed picture of our life and work environments. Doing a PRR is a three step way to check in with yourself, to assess your goals (personal and professional) and personal life.

The three steps are :

·??????P – Pause. ?Take time to extract yourself from your normal environment and be aware of how you feel and what you are seeking personally and professionally.

·??????R - ?Review. What’s happened so far this year, what hasn’t and why? Examine the ‘Why’ ?behind each goal achieved, partially achieved or missed. Why did it work out, why not? Is the goal still relevant? What’s changed with your assumptions and circumstances?

·??????R - Reset. Bearing in mind what you have discovered in the first two stages you need to adapt, tweak, ?prune , revise or reset the goals that are still relevant.

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Action time.

This is the time of year I try to take a short retreat from the weekly routine and execute a purposeful pause, review and reset. (Taking time to talk to yourself can be liberating).

Activities like a few days hiking in nature, a sailing excursion, walking trips like doing a segment of the Camino de Santiago or attending a meditation or Yoga retreat are great opportunities to remove the familiar daily props to your life. You are free to reflect as you become absorbed by the activities of the here and now in your new location.

Yoga and Meditation tools.

There are some useful tools at hand to help you focus.

·??????Yoga has become increasingly popular in today's busy society. For many people, yoga provides a retreat from their chaotic and busy lives. Yoga provides many other mental and physical benefits.

·??????Mindfulness refers to focusing your attention on what you are experiencing in the present moment without judging yourself.

Practicing yoga has been shown to increase mindfulness not just in class, but in other areas of a person's life. You become more aware how your body feels during Yoga classes and this awareness extends to general activities. This heightened awareness can carry over to other sports and occasions such as mealtimes as you savor each bite or sip, and note how food smells, tastes and feels in your mouth.

Yoga is known for its ability to soothe tension and anxiety in the mind and body. But it can also have a positive impact on a person's exercise capacity.

Combining good physical activity such as trekking with the added ingredients that a Yoga or Meditation experience offers, might be the best way to really purr your way into spring.

Timely action.

So make an appointment with yourself this spring and see how your own PRR will spring you forward to face the rest of the year with renewed focus and confidence.

Search locally for Yoga retreats in your area or perhaps indulge yourself with a trip to Tuscany, ( such as what’s currently on offer from www.yogazone.ie) to enjoy the experience of vegetarian food, scenic location, warm sunshine and guided classes.?

Alternatively take to the trekking trails either in a group, with family, friends or solo .

You will return relaxed, refreshed and refocused…purring with energy to tackle the challenges ahead.?