Renáta SasI used to be very excited and said yes to many ideas that popped into my head, also to several opportunities that were coming along. Of course, if you do this or know somebody who does this, you already know that you end up being exhausted and suffer a burnout eventually.
After my last burnout I said enough is enough and started to develop some sort of a filter in the form of a checklist. This checklist was very vague and did not know how to sort out all of the different situations that might come to me.
So I started thinking that I have to have an inside out approach. Because ideas and opportunities will come and go, but I must stay healthy with a clear mind.
Yes, of course, you set your purpose and you just follow that, some might say. But the thing is, when you are at the beginning, you don’t know what your purpose is and you constantly develop, you change your mind, you grow – we are humans after all – this is our super power.
After a lot of trials, my checklist started to look thinner and thinner. I became being really good at asking the right questions that will serve my health, thus me. Let me show you what are the ones that I use nowadays to keep me on track.
- Is this good for my health, wealth and being?
As I mentioned before, at first you do not know your purpose, so what I did is that I focused on my wellbeing, because that I knew for sure how to observe and how to get better at it.
The undercover question is “Will it drain you?” So start thinking hypothetically if you say yes to an idea, will it drain you from your health, wealth or being? If the answer is yes to any of those, just say no.
The key is not to compromise! I know it sounds alluring and you will invent all sorts of reasons to say yes, but please, please start saying no much often. Practice it even with imaginary ideas. Practice how a really good and exciting idea or opportunity comes to you, and before you automatically say yes, apply these questions from an analytical point of view.
- Will this take me closer to my purpose?
I’m not a fan of “discovering” your purpose, I’m more like you have to create your own purpose – type of person. Many of us define our purpose in a conscious way, not from the heart – as the saying goes. And I’m fine with that.
At first, pick a purpose, seriously, just do it for the sake of practicing this filter of questions that will keep you on track. Develop the ability to say no, to analyze what is good or bad for you.
For those of you who already know your purpose, but don’t seem to be heading towards it, you are distracted, my friend. Do you know the main reason of why you are doing this? Because you see potential in every idea, in every opportunity. This means that you are a multiplicator. You can enrich everything you do, start or pick up as you go. You are creative and abundant.
Now, because we have limited time to live, we need to focus on the best idea or opportunity that we can enrich. What has the most potential and what would make you happy to work on continuously? It’s your turn to answer if it will take you closer to your purpose the fastest way possible.
Why the fastest? Uuu this is a tricky one. Most people make a purpose out of achieving it, not by living it. So when they actually achieve it, they have no idea what to do next. Be sure your purpose includes you living it! Not only achieving it.
- Does this resonate with my values?
As I said, I used to be an idea-person. I loved new ideas and opportunities because they gave me a lot of possibilities and development. I loved to start new projects and put them on track – I still do, by the way. But what actually changed is this extra layer of question that will get me looking for the answer to does this fit my values.
Here’s the backstory from when I was a rookie. I used to jump on ideas, and wrongly assume that the intention behind those ideas were the same as I imagined them to be. The truth is that we all have good intentions, but the definition of “good” is very different for all of us. So, when I started working on them with partners, collaborators and so on – the implementation of the idea was significantly not in sync with my values.
Let me give you an over example, just to make it clear. Everybody wants to get rich, right? But some are willing to do illegal activities to achieve this goal. Are you?
Ok, I was not involved in any illegal activities, but you get my point. I was not willing to step over dead bodies, not willing to be dishonest with customers or stakeholders, not willing to over market anything that was not qualitative, not willing to hide or misinterpret information just to make the idea happen and definitely not willing to sacrifice anybody’s health or family time for the sake of material gains. But hey, this is me.
So, whatever you pick, make sure it stands with your own values! Not only the idea, but also the method of implementation.
Yes, it will take time and a lot of practice. Also, you will want to just quit because it will seem that they don’t work. Keep going! It will get worse before it gets better. Practice is key. If you need any support, I’m here, reach out!
So there it is, hope I have answered some of your questions. Leave a comment or message me for more.
Stay curious,
Renata
📷 Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash
