I asked myself this question towards the end of December 2021. It took me a few days to find my answer. During this time, I reflected on my learnings during the year; one learning was about my thoughts.
Whatever problems exist in the world or in my life there are always opportunities, but sometimes we just don’t see them. Our minds are so crowded with our thoughts there seems to be no space for anything else. Thoughts like: I haven’t done, Don’t forget to, What about xx, I’d like time for, I should consider, Remember to you agreed to xx. Earlier this year I found space in my mind for thinking about opportunities, but it happened by accident.
I started looking at the thoughts my mind seemed to be crammed with. I noticed many were negative thoughts. This surprised me as I don’t consider myself to be a negative person. Apparently, we’re all wired to notice ‘threats’ around us. This makes sense – it kept us safe from danger as we evolved as humans. However, always seeing the threats and problems isn’t helpful for our mental wellbeing. Nor is it helpful for making progress in our lives and careers.
I decided I would start to pay more attention to my thoughts. I began questioning my negative viewpoints and looking at the facts to support these views. What did I find? I discovered that often there was no factual basis for my negative thoughts. So, I started replacing my negative thoughts with realistic ones. Suddenly, there were opportunities popping up naturally in my mind. Many of these were completely random and new. The more I questioned the negative thoughts the more space I seemed to create.
Have you ever looked at what your thoughts are about? You can start by noticing your thoughts once a day. Actually listen to what the voice in your head is saying, instead of just being aware of it chattering away.
- What is it you are actually thinking about?
- Is it positive or negative dialogue?
- Are your thoughts based on fact/opinions/imagination/past experiences?
- Are they encouraging thoughts or something else?
After a few attempts at listening to your thoughts consider what you want to be thinking about. There is a choice, which with practice, becomes empowering.
So, a year from now what will I wish I had started doing today? Making the most of one opportunity in each of the 364 days I have left in 2022. Each day I will get older, not younger. My life will get shorter, not longer. I will focus on the opportunities in my life and in my work.
When you look forward to January 2023 – what will you wish you had started doing today?
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift that is why they call it the present.” – Anonymous