Your “best you” 2021 recipe
By: Karla Parra
Tags: Planning, Goal Setting, Happy New Year, 2021, New Year Resolution

Your “best you” 2021 recipe

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Last night, our cute 8-pound Chihuahua (“Lolis”), kept me up as she shivered and moved around in search of a warm nook in our blankets. Today, while Lolis napped blissfully in the sun, the lack of sleep took its toll on me. Tasks took longer to complete and as a consequence, my productivity suffered. Sufficient sleep is one of those ingredients that support or detract from our ability to pursue our goals. As you map out goals for 2021, are you also considering the conditions or ingredients necessary to support you in attaining those goals?

In the first of three articles on building your 2021 roadmap, I talked about exploring what you really want in the new year: specifically how you want to grow and how you want to feel. In this Part 2, I’m focusing on the supporting mechanisms to help you attain that growth and those feelings (or any other goal you’re pursuing). That mechanism is the unique recipe and ingredients that fuel the most engaged and productive version of you.

Ingredients and steps

Your “best you” recipe is made up of a variety of ingredients — inner and outer conditions that enable full engagement in your tasks and goals. When we feel and perform at our best, these ingredients are working in our favor. When we feel stressed, anxious, or “off” in some way, one or more of the ingredients are likely missing. So, what are these ingredients? Here are a few*:

1. Physical: Sleep, nutrition, body image, hydration, exercise, illness are all physical ingredients that work for or against us when we perform at work, home, or elsewhere. We may approach these as goals in themselves: to eat better, exercise more, drink more water. Instead of thinking of them as goals, I invite you to think of them as ingredients that you need to be at your best. In 2021, one of my physical ingredients is a shift in my mindset. Instead of focusing on what I’ve done wrong (e.g., I went to bed too late), I’d like to acknowledge what I do right more often to inspire more of those behaviors (e.g., I walked a mile). As you think about your goals, what physical ingredients will support you this coming year? In what small ways can you prioritize one or more of these ingredients?

2. Mental: Clarity, focus, awareness, and concentration are ingredients that allow us to optimally function as we pursue our goals. We often focus on the physical, but easily ignore our mental fitness. Think about the last time you felt your best mentally — what were you experiencing? What circumstances and activities led to that moment? I know that when I have fewer but meatier tasks on my to-do list, I’m more engaged in my work than when I have many small, meaningless tasks. So in 2021, I intend to organize my work more strategically around more robust but fewer daily projects. What ingredients do you know work for you in optimizing your mental fitness? What adjustments might you need to make to better serve your mental performance this coming year?

3. Relationships: Connection, support, and amount of interaction are ingredients that when just “right”, allow us to feel fully engaged. A new perspective I’ve recently adopted is to view my most valued relationships not as stand-alone, but rather, as the team that I simply can’t do without this coming year. These are the people that ignite a light within me and lovingly help me grow. Who will make up your support team as you consider your goals ahead? How will you nurture those relationships? Conversely, who’s not on your team and what choices will you make around leaving, accepting, or changing these relationships and interactions? What other relationship-driven ingredients might you need to help you feel at your best in 2021?

Goal-setting goes beyond simply listing goals. It’s also about self-awareness and acknowledging the ways in which you’re supporting or sabotaging your goal pursuit. What ingredients will make up your “best YOU” recipe in 2021 so you can pursue goals with resilience? With ~2 weeks left in 2020, how can you experiment with these ingredients now?

In my next article, I’ll be diving into the third and final component of your 2021 personal roadmap. Stay tuned!

*Source: Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching: Energy Influencers