Everyone wants to start 2021 on a positive note. What is one thing you want to happen in 2021? Perhaps your goal is to shed some pandemic pounds, or to start a new hobby, or pivot a business, or meet “the one”. Whatever you are planning for, keep it simple, and get started with just one thing.
Whether or not you set New Year resolutions, January 1 is a good time to evaluate where you are and where you want to be. If you are stuck for ideas of how to begin something new, here are three book recommendations from business owners in the mid-Willamette Valley. The best part of each of these books is that you don’t even have to read the whole thing to find something new to try!
Start By Asking Questions
Andrea Beem, realtor and owner of The Beem Team in Albany, Oregon suggests, “start by asking questions.” Great questions cause people to pause, and in the pause, perspectives can shift. A change in perspective allows new thoughts to emerge. She recommends The Book of Beautiful Questions by Warren Berger as a springboard for creative thought. Asking the right questions, at the right time, can change lives.
In a 2018 blog, Berger suggests first asking the question, “why?” Children do it all the time. It’s how they make sense of the world, and how they grow intellectually. As adults gain knowledge, we often lose this ability, trapped in feelings of embarrassment at not knowing an answer. To be a “beautiful questioner” you have to be comfortable with not knowing and being willing to learn.
If you aren’t quite ready to start asking why for yourself, try asking questions of others around you. A pro tip from Beem is to not ask just the usual question. Instead of “how are you?,” try asking:
What’s the best thing that happened to you today?
What are you excited about in your life today?
What are you most looking forward to?
The answers might just surprise you and provide you with a new perspective or creative idea.
Find Your Purpose
Another local Keller Williams realty company, Sue Long Realty proposes ways to think differently about what you already love to give your life new direction. Their blog post about the book, The One Thing by Keller and Papasan, outlines three steps for achieving new outcomes. Changing your habits to change your life is not easy, but it does not have to be time-consuming or stressful.
For example, a change to improve your health, or work-life balance, or get your creative juices flowing could be a 20-minute walk outside each day, or if you already do that, taking your usual walk in a new direction each week. Be open to surprise encounters, new information, and other people’s questions to you. What is just one small thing you can change starting today?
Stop Worrying…and Make a Decision
If you are having difficulty answering a question about your business or your life, Kristin Bertilson, founder of Queen B Organizing, offers this advice: stop worrying and make a decision! Kristin shares her productivity tips in chapter 42 of 1 Habit for a Thriving Home Office. Making a decision, even if you aren’t sure it is the right one, is a productive step forward.
Take a deep breathe. Make a decision. Check in with yourself and see how it feels. If it is a positive one, keep going! If it turns out to not be the best decision at that time, then you will have the opportunity to change your path. But all staying stuck in indecision will do is keep you from getting you where you want to go. What have you got to lose?
Your One Life…in 2021
Ask questions. Find what inspires you. Make one decision today to set the tone for the new year.
It’s your one life. The more engaged, and curious, and willing to make mistakes you are, the lovelier it will be. Why? Let that be the guiding question of 2021 and see where you end up.
To learn more about Queen B Organizing and the decisions Kristin made to grow her business, listen to this podcast.