What is your guiding question this year?
Hello February!
It’s that time of the year when our motivation to live our best life in 2019 begins to fade. We are back to our regular routines after the excitement of the holidays is over. If you’re a gym regular it’s that time when you can actually get a treadmill again after the “new year, new me” folks fall off. Unsurprisingly, by the second week of February, approximately 80% of resolutions fail according to U.S. News.
Yes, this statistic is a bit depressing (but not surprising). Personally, I am not one for resolutions. I am recovering from a former goal allergy. I used to have a major aversion to goals. What did it say about me if I didn’t achieve my goal? More than fearing failure I was afraid that me not reaching a goal meant that I was a failure.
I realized I was having an allergic reaction to the limitations of goals and resolutions, but I was still drawn to the seeking of new possibilities and the energy that is created in claiming a goal. It is that energy that is so seductive in January but is ultimately unsustainable by February. Yet, I learned that I have the ability to open myself up to curiosity instead of certainty and turn to wonderment instead of judgment.
This year I have decided to create what author Warren Berger refers to as a “quesolution.” My own guiding question for this year is, “What gives me energy?”
How might you turn your 2019 resolution or goal into a question?
For example, instead of “I want lose weight.” What if you asked, “What gives me the most vitality?” “What types of movement make my body feel good?” “What types of food sustain me throughout the day?”
Instead of I want a new job, try, “What do I volunteer for at work? What type of advice or expertise do people seek from me? What books, videos or articles do I find the most compelling? What topics do I find myself researching in my free time?”
Questions are a key component of any BREAD experience. It’s a habit we were excelling at around age 4 and all of us could use a bit more practice these days. Feeling stuck in an area of your life? Try trading in declarations for questions. Start here…
- How might I do X?
- How can I do Y?
- What if I were to do X?
- What if I tried to do Y?
- I wonder how I could do a better job of X?
- How might I improve Y?
Check out our latest video from fellow Questionaligist, Tracy G., where she talks about curiosity and investigation as themes of her life.
What is your guiding question for 2019?
As Tracy G. says, your partner-in-shine,
Leora, Chief of Possibility
