A Time to Reflect
In a few days, it will be 2024. For many it will be a time to make resolutions as to what they will want to do in the New Year. It may be on a personal level, involving such things as lose weight, exercise more, give more to charity, control their temper, etc. I know as a business owner I will receive several different solicitations from other business owners about their desire to work with me on making my 2024 business plans to make it the most economically successful year I will ever have for my business.
However, for the last few months I have often found myself being in reflective moods very often. At times I will question those things in my life and trying to be honest with myself, as to which ones I still enjoy doing very much, and which ones that do not serve me as well any more. I tend to be an individual that does not make rash decisions. My loyalty to those in my life and those groups or organizations of which I am a part make it difficult for me to move on from them. So, sometimes the same thoughts and consternations churn inside of me repeatedly for weeks or months at a time.
In October of 2023, in my monthly newsletter, I spoke of the works of Dr. Allen Hunt and the 4 quarters of one’s life. The 1st quarter is the foundation, the 2nd quarter is the learning of what you want to do with your life, the 3rd quarter is the prime and the 4th quarter is the harvesting and reaping the benefits of what you have sown. The 4th quarter is also a time of reflection on ensuring that those things you are doing are indeed part of the legacy you want to leave.
Certainly, I continue to enjoy the work I do with job searchers. I have had the opportunity to coach and work with a wide range of individuals from all parts of the world. Additionally, I enjoy the webinars on job search methods and tools that I provide. My business to me has always been a 2nd career. Initially, I had to learn how to work as a solopreneur after a long corporate career. That meant connecting through approaches and activities that I did not necessarily know of while I was working in corporate America. Entrepreneurial networking groups and professional associations became a part of my life. My network became other business owners who had their own ventures and services.
The past year has gotten me to begin questioning, how do I want to go forward with the things that have been part of my life for the last 10 to 15 years. Do, I want to give them up all completely? Not necessarily. However, do I want to feel a slave to them, that I MUST do all the things I have been told one must do to have a successful business. I find myself not so inspired to do so. Additionally, in the back of one’s mind is not only the legacy one wants to leave, like I indicated above, but what do I want to perhaps dismantle myself, so my heirs are not left having to close shop for me on items they may not even realize exist.
We all face decision points in our life. Often, we cheat ourselves out of the time to reflect what we really want to do, and what we have become “addicted” to doing because it has become part of our regular routine. Sometimes we become frightened that if we rearrange the items we do in our life, what will we do with the “free time.” On the other hand, a sudden shock or trauma, (an illness, a death in the family, having to put everything aside to care for a loved one, etc.), force us into changing how we live our day to day.
I know in my case, I am fortunate, that I have the time to reflect on how I will want to approach my 2024 and beyond. If you find yourself feeling consternation about how you are living your life, perhaps you want to give yourself the gift on reflecting on how you want to alter how you are living and what you are doing in your life. Perhaps you want to talk it through with a trained counselor. Or perhaps like me, you want to figure it out for yourself, (with likely a good basis of prayer mixed in). Whatever you choose, may the coming year allow you reap the benefits of what you have sown to date, and allow you to plant new seeds on what you want to leave behind as a legacy.
