You may be familiar with this scene. A blank sheet of paper sits before you awaiting your most inspired revelations. You hold the pen in your hand, gripping its nubby rubber surface, feeling a sense of urgency. You wait for the words to arrive.
Nothing meaningful comes to you but you think you must write down something, so you do. A few sentences describing the money you’ll earn or the weight you’ll lose or the mountain you’ll scale.
You’ve written something. But perhaps not THE things that really need to be written.
Welcome to your New Year’s resolutions.
This year, as you sit before your blank sheet of paper, I would encourage you to do something a little different.
Stop trying to find the answers.
The blessing of a new year is that it is fresh. The only thing that exists is possibility. Instead of trying to impose the perfect “answers” on your year through resolutions, why not honor the possibilities?
You can do this by focusing on the questions that keep resurfacing in your life. The little whispers that find you as you’re waiting in line at the grocery store. The musings that hit you as you watch your child kick a soccer ball in the yard. The thoughts you try and shoo away as you settle down to sleep.
Write these beautiful questions down. Because they are truly beautiful. They are the sign posts that have appeared to guide you on your journey.
- What does being healthy feel like?
- What does money mean in your life?
- What does success look like?
- What does a well-lived, rich life look like ?
- What possibilities call to you?
- Who do you want to be when you grow up?
The questions you ask are yours to define. They are the wonderings that give meaning to your life and propel you forward.
Allow your questions to be your resolutions.
Savor their existence. Grant yourself a bit of grace and know that final answers are not required. It’s possible, just possible, that merely asking the questions is enough to lead you to the answers you crave – one step at a time – if you’re patient.
Resolve to give yourself the gift of exploration.
Don’t you feel better already?
**************
P.S. I’d love to have you come explore with me.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Glorious questions
Jackie Walker recently posted..Being Me Interview – Alejandro Reyes
Thanks, Jackie! That means a lot since you ask the best ones.
Beautiful, Andrea. You know me: I’m all about living the questions (despite my frantic and endless search for answers). It’s where all the juice is, the passion, the energy, and the compelling, oh-so-gorgeous ability to keep moving forward no matter what.
Your questions are stunning. And the answers I know you offer? Equally so.
Happy New Year
Ronna recently posted..Be destructive!
Living the questions – definitely what it is all about. If you can love them, it’s even better! Thanks, Ronna, as always.
Living the questions…one of my fave things to do! And these are juicy questions to take with me to a little cafe some time this week where I will sit with my journal to ponder my future.
Sandi Amorim recently posted..The Death of Someday
I can see you pondering now – a lovely vision! Thanks, Sandi!
I am learning that my work as an instructional coach is mostly about finding the right questions to ask my coachees. It’s not about giving them answers or telling them what to do. I have a feeling that when I’m helping them to formulate the questions, it will mean I’ve gotten even better at it.
Rita@thissortaoldlife.com recently posted..The big reveal–Not!Our one wall at a time approach to renovation
I totally agree, Rita. Finding the right questions is so important. Your coachees are lucky to have you!