When we live, behave, and make decisions in alignment with our highest selves, our dearest-held values, and our goals, then we are the most productive, we achieve our potential, and we are equipped to live our purpose.
But how do we get there? How do we pursue and achieve alignment so that we can live energized, optimally use our gifts, and feel fulfilled?
Alignment is highly personal, and requires exploration of six areas:
1 – What do you want? What is your vision for your life?
2 – Who are you? What are your values, and what do you value? What are your gifts, talents, skills, interests, experiences, and zone of genius?
3 – What goals do you have? What do you need to do to achieve your life vision?
4 – What do you need to stop doing? What tasks and activities do you need to remove from your life, so that you can be who you are and achieve the goals that create your vision?
5 – What do you believe? Do you actually hold subconscious, conditioned beliefs that are keeping you from being your best self and achieving the goals that would create your vision?
6 – What is your purpose? How do you pull it all together so that you are optimally serving, investing your talents in a way that makes a positive impact?
These six steps represent my signature alignment process, which is designed to empower you to have energy and feel fulfilled.
This process iterates, and should be re-examined seasonally, as you evolve, when you experience change, and as you become aware that something in your life is off.
This “off” feeling might present as exhaustion or emptiness. It might feel like chronic, dysfunctional stress. It might feel like your mind is foggy or scattered. You might feel overwhelmed or over-obligated. You might observe that your health or performance are beginning to degrade into chaos – hormones out of whack, low energy, fitful or nonexistent sleep, and other random symptoms. You might feel emotionally volatile or just not like yourself.
All of these can be indicators that you’re out of alignment.
Coming into alignment starts with the hardest question you’ve ever asked yourself:
What do you actually want?
You may have just thought to yourself, “I don’t know what I want.”
If that’s you, you’re not alone. Most of the women I work with don’t know what they really, deeply want.
But the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland wasn’t wrong when he said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”
Your vision for your life is simple: it’s what you want. (Remember that simple doesn’t mean easy!)
In every area of your life, consider what you want to experience and what you don’t want to experience.
What do you want in your family life, romantic relationships, and friendships? What do you not want?
How do you want to spend your time? What do you want your schedule to look like? What do you not want?
What do you want for your financial life? What do you not want?
What do you want for your health? How do you want to feel? What do you not want?
Take some time to reflect on what you want and don’t want.
Here are some areas of your life to consider, if it helps to break your vision down into components: accomplishments, day-to-day schedule, energy levels, faith life, familial relationships, finances, fitness and exercise, free time, friendships, hobbies, home, lifestyle, mood, nutrition, food, and the experience of eating, physical health, productivity, rest, romantic relationships, self-care (bearing in mind that literally all of this is self-care!), sleep, travel, vacation, wellness, the culture at your workplace, the hours that you work, the type of work that you do, the impact you want to make and your personal mission.
These are just some of the areas of your life you can examine. What others would you add to this list?
You will experience success as you define it when you are living, choosing, and behaving in perfect alignment with your highest self and dearest held values.
With alignment, optimal is possible.