The end of 2020 is here, and we’re big on celebrating wins and setting intentions here at Work Bigger. In fact, it’s how we spent the December group coaching call.
If you’re not a member of Work Bigger, I encourage you to try an exercise outlining your successes and setting intentions for yourself.
I know this year it may be especially hard to find wins given everything that’s happened. There’s been significant grief and loss.
So I invite you to do this if it speaks to you. Here’s how it will help.
- Celebrating your successes will create more success in your life. You experience a dopamine release which keeps you in action.
- Setting an intention and writing it down signals to yourself and others something that’s really important to you. It’s a start to the process of achieving goals.
I’m going to demonstrate this exercise here – sharing with you a list of personal and professional wins I experienced this year, and also intentions I’ve set for the new year.
I want to acknowledge that my privilege and good fortune play a significant part in these wins. Privilege and external circumstances always play a role in our outcomes.
I also want to share my personal and professional wins with you because you’re a part of my journey. Work Bigger wouldn’t exist without you, so thank you for being here.
Once you’re done reading, write me in the comments and let me know:
- What challenges did you overcome this year?
- What’s one intention you’re setting for yourself for 2021?
Now let’s start…
What challenges did you overcome this year? Make a list of your successes.
I’ll start.
My dreams came true this year. It sounds strange to say that when the world has been falling apart.
Don’t get me wrong. This year has been incredibly challenging. It still is.
But here’s what I mean when I say my dreams came true.
One of my biggest desires in life has been to build a family and run a thriving business.
For a long time, I didn’t think that was possible. After all, as a woman, I received a lot of messages growing up about what was possible. I heard things like:
“Pick a career or a family. Doing both is too hard especially in your thirties if you’re raising kids.”
“You have to focus! If you have kids, you won’t be as successful…”
“Business isn’t for someone like you. It’s for people who are cut throat.”
“Starting a business is too risky. Why go that route when you can stay at your job?”
All of these messages came from people I love and trust.
I share that because choosing to not listen to this advice required a lot of will power and faith.
I also needed to find people who would tell me otherwise.
This year, I had my second son, Ryder and I became a mom to two amazing boys.
For a long time, I thought I didn’t have it in me to be a mother of 2 – partly because having my first, Asher, rocked my confidence (I didn’t sleep for 18 months!) and partly because of some of the messages I shared above.
But now I’m doing it. I got through the pregnancy and the birth in a pandemic.
I got through those sleepless first 3-months.
More recently, I got through the 4-month sleep regression.
I feel incredibly blessed to have my family during a time of loss and grieving. Also, all of the above would be so much harder without a supportive, equal partner – my husband, Evan.
I experienced this big, personal win while also achieving new milestones with Work Bigger.
Some new milestones include:
- Seeing my clients flourish. This tops any other professional success. This year alone, my clients have launched businesses in a matter of months, and they’ve landed jobs during a pandemic. They’ve also negotiated raises and promotions, set boundaries for themselves, overcome burnout, and so much more.
- The group coaching membership has evolved to offer so many valuable resources. Our members are hosting co-working sessions to keep each other accountable. When I take a look at the newsletter we send out each week, I feel a lot of pride at everything the members have access to now. This all started from nothing and just an idea.
- We launched a new beta program called Mindset Intensive with 7 new members. I’ll share more about this in the new year.
- At the height of the pandemic, I spoke to 5,000+ people on finding a meaningful career and working on your mindset during COVID-19.
- Even though I took maternity leave and we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, Work Bigger grew 33% in revenue in 2020.
- Our team has grown with 3+ new part time members, and I’ve learned to set up processes and systems and to delegate work more powerfully.
There’s more, but I’ll stop there.
I want to again acknowledge that I get to celebrate these successes because of my privilege.
I was able to get pregnant a second time. I was able to become a parent – period.
Also, after experiencing a very difficult layoff in 2019, my husband landed a new leadership opportunity and his role wasn’t negatively impacted during the pandemic.
This took a lot of the pressure off me and as a result, I was able to make investments in myself – like professional coaching for myself and expanding my team.
I also can’t imagine having had to tackle 2020 without my partner.
I know this year has been challenging. But take a moment to write down any and all of your successes.
If it feels challenging, start with these two questions:
- What did you overcome this year that you thought you couldn’t?
- What challenges did you face?
If you’re still standing, you have something to celebrate.
Set your intentions and goals for the new year ahead.
Before I set the big, lofty, challenging, exciting goals, I want to share with you where I’m starting – which is with how I want to feel.
This isn’t solely about “What do I want to DO”, but “How do I want to FEEL?”
What COVID-19 has taught me is that in the most difficult period of our lives, the small moments are all that we have.
One day we’ll look back on this day and it will be just a thought – a memory. (I often think, did quarantine actually happen? It feels like a warped dream.)
I want to feel more joy and presence. I don’t want to wait for quarantine to end to feel that. I want to find those moments – wherever they exist in the day – and take them in.
I know I won’t do this perfectly, but even if I do this 50% of the time, that’s 50% more joy.
How do you want to FEEL in 2021? What are the emotions that you want at the forefront of your human experience?
After you’re clear on the feeling you want to experience, you can identify the doing.
Here’s what I want to do.
In 2021, I’d like to help 40 additional people find their purpose.
The reason this is important and exciting is because people who have a purpose are much more fulfilled at work (and in their lives), and they experience more health benefits.
Additionally, having a sense of purpose directly impacts how someone shows up in their personal life and in the workplace.
More people showing up with a purpose, clarity and aim, means there are better leaders in the workplace.
Better leaders create a better, more values-driven world. We need this so fregin badly!
I want to achieve this goal by supporting our members even more than we already are.
We’ve also launched a new group program this year called Mindset Intensive (currently we’re running the beta cohort). We’re going to be opening this again in the Spring.
And I’m going to continue working with clients 1:1.
This is my big goal for 2021. It honestly gives me life.
So let’s go back to you now.
- How do you want to FEEL in 2021? What are the emotions that you want at the forefront of your human experience?
- And what do you want to DO?
Thank you for being here – for being a reader and for being a part of Work Bigger. Work Bigger wouldn’t exist without you, and I’m so grateful for your presence and leadership.
