Who has won so far? You or 2020?

Are you paddling through the rapids or are you drifting wherever the world takes you?

Believe it or not, 2020 is almost over.

It’s odd because it feels like yesterday that I was thinking about the idea of New Year’s resolutions and the commitments we make to ourselves at the beginning of the year.

This year has thrown us a ton of curveballs and it’s been an honor to be on the frontlines of your lives with you throughout the year. I’ve worked with young people who are starting their professional lives in the most uncertain of times. I’ve worked with established business owners who had to fortify their business against a global pandemic and an economic shutdown. I’ve worked with couples who found themselves navigating an entirely new dynamic at home as schools and offices were shut down.

Through it all, I’ve watched all my clients grow, stay committed to living with passion, and stay committed to their results.

Personally, I don’t like to wait until late December to start thinking about progress and the new decisions I must make - especially in a year as disorienting as this one had the potential to be.

I encourage you to do the same. Whether you are a client, or just someone out there looking for ways to improve, start thinking about your 2020. Did you continue to grow? Did you decide to live in a great state of mind? Did you experience more good emotions than bad ones? Did you see opportunity, or did you only see challenges?

Towards the beginning of the pandemic, a podcaster who is one of my old clients brought me on to talk about what coaching people needed in uncertain times.

I told him the same thing I would tell anyone on the best of days or the worst of days – a concept pioneered by one of my teachers Anthony Robbins: that they need to focus on their state, their story, and their strategy.

Human nature is similar regardless of the backdrop of what is going on in the world. Even when things are going pretty well in the world, people will find a reason to be pissed off or to tell themselves a disempowering story that keeps them from even starting to make their lives better. If this is you, I promise you it doesn’t have to be. Even if things seem really challenging, living in a positive state is always attainable. Telling yourself an empowering story is always attainable. And, of course, there is always a strategy to fulfill your goals.

Take this last month or two of 2020 to make sure that you haven’t held on to or caught Niagara Syndrome. Niagara Syndrome being controlled by the world and just drifting aimlessly hoping you end up in a good spot.

The most impactful and fulfilled people don’t drift. They always put their oars in the water and row towards what they want – regardless of how rough the water is.
There are skills and technologies available to take control of your life and your mind today.
Get stated rowing towards what you want today.

Get your journal out and jot down a few things for your current state, story and strategy:

1. State – what moods are you experiencing throughout the day? What moods do you want more of? What moods do you want less of?
2. Story – What are your mental holdbacks? What do you tell yourself when you are talking yourself out of what you want (there’s a lot of these right now)? What empowering stories do you tell yourself?
3. Strategy – What are you doing right now to meet your current goals?