6 Questions To Make 2023 Your Best Year YET!

All right, it's the end of the year, everyone. And do you ever feel like, you know, as you're planning out your New Year's resolutions, it's just gonna be, like, the same as last year? You're gonna have the same kind of uninspired resolutions where you say, like, I want to get back into shape. I want to, you know, make that bold choice in my career or my life that I said I was going to last year and then gave up halfway through January. And so many times our New Year's resolutions don't grab our attention or inspire action. And why is that? It's because we're used to playing small. And isn't it true that if your New Year's resolutions are not inspiring, that's because you don't make them inspired? You're not thinking in a holistic way, in a way that inspires you into action, that inspires you into that great next phase of your life. Hey, everyone, it's Shawn Butner. This is our weekly newsletter, Monday Motivation. This is the last video of 2022, which I can hardly believe. So I'm really excited. You know, we've had a great holiday. You know, celebrating with family and friends and connecting with people, and lots of food. Of course, I hope your holiday was filled with the same. But, you know, this is also the week between, you know, Christmas, the end of Hanukkah, and New Year's. And so for me, it's a lot of journaling. It's a lot of reflecting on how the year went. It's a lot of trying to really feel grateful for what has come and grateful and excited for what's coming next year. So a little bit more about that. I have a couple of exciting announcements there. But in the meantime, you know, as we were talking about reflecting and last week right before, you know, the Christmas holiday, we talked about how to really kind of think through and reflect on your year. So make sure you check that out if you haven't already. But, you know, this is the time, I think, to really connect with folks because, you know, a lot of times with the holidays, we're reminded of the people that aren't with us anymore. You know, I think about my mom a lot. I think about my grandmother and aunts and uncles that have passed and how they live or continue to live in my life. Right. So, you know, why? I could go into that a ton right now. But, you know, holidays can be hard. The end of the year can be really hard. It's, you know, physically, it's Usually really dark here in the Northern Hemisphere. So, you know, there's that kind of like seasonal adjusted, you know, disorder where people are kind of feeling blue anyways because they're not getting enough sunlight and stuff like that. But again, like, there's those family reminders or maybe you have a tough family. And so it is rough. But there's also so many great things we've done. And isn't that true? You know, we fought this year. We tried new things. We think maybe things didn't go out the way that we wanted, but we learned, we grew, we had a sense of fun and joy while we're doing it. We. We grew as people. And at the end of the day, a lot of the things we did mattered to maybe not just ourselves, but our families. They mattered to our communities and our organizations, our businesses, our careers. You know, we made an impact. And things are different because we made it this year, this far. So, you know, I always love to end with that sense of celebration in the year. And I also love to then start thinking about what's my next year's revolution. So the last four years, I've been hosting at the beginning of the year that the New Year's revolution to try to inspire people to have their goals. And it's important because, you know, when I was first out of college, I was a little overweight and didn't really, like, pay attention too much to health. I had these big ideas of I wanted to work out to be healthy and wouldn't really stick with it for too long. And so I get this job, I move, you know, states where I'm the only person that I, you know, I don't know anyone else. It's just me. And, you know, going from, you know, living in the Midwest to the south in Arkansas, and, you know, getting out of that structure of school to the structure of work, which are different beasts. You know, I was feeling a lot of stress and not having a lot of social interaction with folks. And so I felt really isolated and stressed and confused about what I wanted for my life. You know, you're starting to. You started your career and you're like, is this really what I wanted to do? At least that's where I was. And one day after being fed up of, like, I'm bored, you know, I'm stressed out about all these different, like, stresses out about money for. In a real, real way for the first time. That's not true. But, you know, it was up to me to. To figure out my money problems, right? And it was up to me to guide my career. And there's no great answers. You know, every. There's good options. There's no, like, one clear best option. And so I decided I needed to manage stress. I wanted to. To get healthy, but I'm sick of just doing things just to do things. I needed to do something that would inspire me to act. And so I signed up for the Chicago Marathon, was nine months in the future, and I couldn't even run 15 minutes in a row. I didn't know how to train for a long distance marathon, but I just made the commitment. I'm like, you know what? I'm going to do this. And it will inspire me either to rise up, figure out how to train, and not die or perish. And I was so stressed out, I was kind of okay with that second part. Not. Not really. Not to make light of that. But, you know, I figured I would, you know, hurt myself trying or I would figure this out and it would be okay. And I didn't know how it was going to end out, and that was also okay. So I did what any good nerd would do. I started to research how to train. And there's a book by. I always forget the guys. I always. They. I think it's mix this up with a guitar book, but it's called how to train. And it'll take you from not running or base level of running into running your first marathon. And so that became the plan. And then every day I just had to show up. And every day I showed up because I knew that I would, you know, possibly, you know, not. I would die in the process of trying to run 26.2 miles when I couldn't even run 15 minutes in the same, you know, in a row when I started. So that was, you know, having that plan, having that commitment, having that big, audacious goal. And a lot of times, you know, in the training, I remember feeling like maybe you felt like this in different parts of your life where you're like, you know what? I've never ran five miles in a row. Like, today, I'm breaking a personal record of distance, and I never thought I could do that. And that's so cool. And, oh, yeah, you know, there's a very small percentage of all humans in the world that have ever lived that have run a marathon. And you can join that if you work hard and keep focused and do the miles that you need to do in order to accomplish it. And so, like, that's the power of a big goal. That's part of a revolution, right? Because I went from bad health, overweight, super stressed, to nine months later able to run the marathon. And it all, I believe, started with switching the focus of the goal. The goal wasn't to get healthy. The goal was to run 26.2 miles and to join that elite group of people that had done that in the history of humans and to just prove to myself that I could push my body to run long distances and figure it out. And I never felt as healthy. You know, I felt the healthiest I ever had in my life when I was going through that. Going through it when I was figuring that out and running the miles. And that sense of pride that you've done something really hard that you didn't think you could do is invaluable. So that's when I talk about starting the year with a New Year's revolution versus a resolution. It's not to lose 20 pounds. It's to do something great in the world. And that's where I want that energy for you to be. So how can you lead your New Year's revolution with bigger goals? And how can you start that meaningful revolution with it? Well, first thing is. So these are all journaling questions. So pull out your notes and take some notes here. But the first thing to think about is if you were to have an excellent year, a fantastic year, a year that you thoroughly connected with, that you absolutely loved in 2023, what would you be proud of accomplishing? Like, what would you feel so proud? Telling your parents, telling your spouse, showing your kids that you could do, you know, what type of activities or goals would you pursue to inspire your family and team and co workers to follow you? And I like to start with that feeling of how would it, how, how would it feel to accomplish something like that and then work backwards, right? So if you're feeling like a million bucks, like you had put an immense amount of good work of good vibes, of good energy out into the world, what would those accomplishments be? And start there, right? And I know that's a big question to start with. So this is not, you know, super easy or, you know, some of the, like, entry level personal development stuff. Like we're gonna start this question right, right now and think big and to really feel through that and take a couple minutes right now to watch it, pause this video and journal on that, because it's so important to tap into that feeling of, wow, I can't accomplish. I can, I can, I can accomplish great goals, great things, things that I that mean something to Me that I'm really proud of. And so as you're thinking about that, if you need some help moving along with that question, here's a couple of follow up questions to help you get a little bit clearer and a couple of different areas of your life. Right? So the second question to ask yourself after what would you be proud of accomplishing this next year? What would make you feel proud and excited and inspired is in your health. What would be some type of epic feat that you could brag to your friends about and family members, the people around if you could accomplish it? You know, so for me, in my story after college, it was signing up for that marathon and finishing that marathon. Right. I, you know, there's a reason why runners are super annoying when they're in the process of running and training for a marathon. It's because you're proud, right? You want to show people that you've committed. You want to show people that you're out there making it happen. Part of it is to pump yourself up, but the other thing is, is it's really cool to be chasing something that's hard and to be making progress towards it. So is it signing up for marathon? Is it signing up for Tough Mudder? And check with your doctor again? Of course, you know, I'm not suggesting that you go do this without consulting your health professionals, but you know, if it was to climb a mountain, if it was to go on a three day hike, if it was to what type of activity would inspire you to think, I never thought I could do this. I never thought I could swim in the Pacific Ocean. And because it's so cold and I was able to do it, or like, what do those things look like for your health that will help you lead to healthy outcomes? Right. And it, yeah. And that, that's it. Right. It doesn't. Even if you're like, I wish I could run 100 mile race and I don't know how to do it and maybe you're not going to make it this next year. You can still have that goal and train for a marathon and then just start adding after that or see where you're at. Maybe you change your mind, that's totally fine too. That big audacious goal for your health, what does that look like? What does that embody? How do you again think you'll feel about, you know, having to do the miles and the training? And this should be an exercise in brainstorming and of excitement. Right. And we can refine a little bit later. But so again, in your Health. What would be some type of epic feat you'd want to brag about to everyone around you if you could accomplish it next year? And that's different for everyone too. So I mean, it could just be, you know, I don't know, there's so many different ways I don't want to, you know, pigeonhole anything. But I'm here encouraging you, cheering you on in that goal. Okay, third question. To help you kind of refine, you know, that what would you be proud of accomplishing next year is in your career, what bold move would feel worthy of admiration from your family and friends? But you did something that was, you know, good for yourself, good for your family, good for your organization, but you took a calculated risk that you've been holding back or you did something you've been avoiding for a while. And it just shows that you're able to confront the thing, whether it's something that's unpleasant or something that you've been, you know, you need to do and you've been holding back. But you did it with integrity. You did it with a sense of greater purpose to those that you serve. And think about that in your career, what would that be? Would it be you, you know, go for that promotion? Is it you switch careers to work on something that you absolutely find fulfilling and you know, helps people, or you're following that sense of service, like that's the type of things to maybe think about. Again, this is pretty broad, but you know, like in my business, a bold move for me next year is going to be engaging a lot more of my network because there's a lot of people that I've worked with and I went to school with that have no idea what I'm doing now because I tend to focus on my business accounts and not my personal social media accounts and reaching out and all that kind of stuff. So that's something for me on this path with you that's going, I'm going to be doing next year as I'm thinking through this. So this is a little bit more concrete example. But what bold move would be worthy of that admiration and celebration from your family, friends and teammates and organization? Okay, the next question to consider is, in your well being, if you could feel a certain way for most of next year, how would you love to feel? And I asked this question and I've been talking a lot about feelings. I'm not sure if you've noticed it, and that's on purpose because a lot of times, especially in like YouTube videos or out in personal development we're talking about tactics and strategies and the mechanics of getting the thing, but we never think about the emotional side of how do we want to feel. Because, you know, there's one thing to go out there and grind and try to do these great things that revolutionize your life and completely change and transform you. And there's another thing of doing that and being miserable in the process. So if this is not fun for you, if this is not inspiring for you, if this is not leading you to feeling happier or feeling more connected or a lot more of those positive emotions, and you don't have that intention for yourself to have more positive emotions next year, then this is the question for you that could completely change how 2023 goes for you. And I really believe it. Because if you know how you want to feel during the day and you start making choices with how you want to feel every day, and you're doing it responsibly, right? It's not like, oh, I feel like, I don't want to work, and then you just give up, and then your family can't eat. Like, that's not a good situation. But if you take that responsible action with integrity, that helps you feel alive and connected to your life. That's what we're talking about. And how do you move your life more into that? That's part of this revolution thing. So a lot of times, if you're miserable, you're probably. And I don't want to, like, blanketly say this flippantly, because I think it's true that if you're not happy, you've been ignoring something in your life that's been asking you to change, to fix it, to improve it, to do it in a different way for a long time. And, you know, I say that having had that those times in my life, too. I mean, my way of coping it. I got so fed up with it, I signed up for a fricking marathon, guys. Like, that's insane when you are overweight and can't run for, like, literally more than, like, 15 minutes, five minutes, probably when I started. So, you know, how do you want to feel? Like, think that through. Okay, so that next question that's important and might help you refine that big question that we had, and what would you be proud of accomplishing next year is in your relationships, what are the inspiring milestones, collaborations, new friendships, or social things that you would be totally stoked to have worked with these people or accomplished with these folks in the next year? And that could be for all y'. All that got married before, right before or during the pandemic. Maybe you finally take that honeymoon and you go and celebrate with your spouse. Maybe you are working with a new, like, tier of clients that are a little bit more aligned to your values or you can pay you more or whatever that is in your business, or you're really, you know, enhancing those close relationships and friendships with a trip to celebrate your everyone's birthday. Or, you know, there's so many different examples of what this could look like. I'm asking what does it look like for you? You know, because I don't know. And I have a general idea of what helps people really, you know, feel like they've had this transformation in their lives. But at the end of the day, you know, it's up to you to do the work, to figure it out. And that's something I'm always expect. You know, I expect the people that I'm, you know, teaching, the people that are my coaching clients to put in that effort. So I'll say that very plainly for y', all, but I don't want you to feel like if you're like, oh, I can't do it, or a, I'm not really getting, I'm not really feeling super inspired that, you know, it's probably just, it's me not explaining it well or not doing a good enough job cheering you on. Because ultimately I, you know, want you to succeed. I want you to feel next year fully and with your full, you know, life behind you, that, that sense of excitement and vibrancy. So real quick before we, I got one more point for you, but I want to let you know that at the beginning of 2023, I am hosting the Meaningful Revolution Challenge, which is a three day challenge to help you get clear on what your meaningful revolution is and to build a plan to achieve it. So what is a meaningful revolution? Well, it's the activities that lead to fulfillment and dramatic transformation in your life. And so this challenge is something that I created to help one get people started right in 2023, you know, have that momentum of the new year going, the new momentum going into the new year to really help people get, you know, again, crystal clear on how they want to feel, the kind of life they want to build, and then to build and take consistent action to realize it. So, like I said, I got three days of training. The first day, we'll talk a lot about getting clear on what you want for the next year for your personal, meaningful revolution, your fulfilling transformation, however you want to say it. Second day be working on a plan. The third day we'll be talking about what trips people up and how to make sure you're following through some habits and strategies on that third day. So I'm really, really excited for it. I know this will really help people reach that next level next year because ultimately that's my mission, is to help people live more fully into their lives. So if that's you, there's a link below wherever you're watching this where you can sign up for this three day challenge. I love to love, love, love to see you there and to help work out and cheer you on and make sure that your plan is connecting and you have a plan and maybe a little bit of accountability going forward on following through with those things that really are going to make that difference for you. So, okay, now we've asked five different questions right now. The big question again being what would you be proud of accomplishing in the next year? And then we, you know, in your health, what are those epic feats that would be worthy about bragging about to your friends and family? We talked about your career and those bold actions that would really inspire the folks around you. We talked about your well being and how you might want to feel next year in a more positive way if you could more consistently. We talked about, you know, what you need to do in your relationships or the relationships you need to build with inspiring milestones, collaborations or other social things. And so here's the last question I have for y' all and it might be a little forward, so forgive me if it is, but it's a, it's a little challenging and it's meant to be that way. And that is, how will you lead each of these changes next year and who are you going to do it for? People other than yourself. And I think, you know, some of the times when we're planning these New Year's resolutions or revolutions or these big changes that things that we wouldn't do for ourselves or we wouldn't follow through for ourselves, we will follow through for a family member. We will get into our health plan and transform and run that marathon. If it's going to inspire your kids to have a healthier lifestyle, you'll do it for your, you'll make that call in your business where maybe you have to cut some people loose because the business isn't doing so good so that everyone else can still have a salary and, you know, pay for things. And so that responsibility to the organization's continual existence and the customers you serve and the employees you get to keep that might need to happen because if you don't make that call, maybe the business goes under and then everyone is in a tough spot, you know. So in your relationships, what kind of moments are you trying to make for your close people and to make it fun along the way or you know, how are you feeling those positive emotions every day in a way that allows you capacity to be there for your family and friends. So ultimately this question is what are you going to do about it and what is necessary in service to other people. And I think that little tweak a lot of times can make the difference of people creating a plan, having these great visions and actually getting in the game and implementing it. And so I hope that's you. I am cheering you guys on. I am really excited for the end of this year. I'm really excited to start next year to do that three day challenge. So if you are interested in that again, there's a link below. Probably have some prizes and a chance for you to ask questions and get some coaching also. So if you're into that, hit that link below. I'd love to have you, I'd love to see, I'd love to support you and really help you make 2023 your year to thrive and succeed or you know, to help you through struggling through it either. You know, that also sometimes happens but you know. So I can't say that next year is going to be amazing and great but I will do my damned to make sure of that for you. So if you're with me, if you want to get started with your personal meaningful revolution, your fulfilling transformation, then click on that link below. Otherwise guys, have a great end of the year. I'll see you next Monday on the 1st. Hopefully not too hungover. So celebrate responsibly, have fun, connect with your family and friends, guys and we'll see you in the next episode of Monday Motivation. This is Sean Butner signing off.