21st January 2020

What will make 2020 your best year yet?

What will make 2020 your best year yet?

This seems like a worthwhile question to give some thought to and yet the answer may be somewhat different to what many people imagine.

We are living in a world where we seem to be constantly on the treadmill of getting things done.

After all, who isn’t busy these days?

Most of us are rushing around keeping the plates spinning, our devices are like a child are tugging at us for constant attention and yet how much happier are we for it?

Would accomplishing twice as much make you twice as happy?

The goal line and the soul line

Imagine a piece of paper (or you can draw this yourself if you want to!) with a horizontal line drawn across it.

This is the goal line.

You could also call this line ‘the game of life’. It is what you are up to in life. It is all about doing.

In my professional life, I’m playing the role of a coach and I have my goals in that area. As a financial adviser, this is the professional role you play, and you have your own goals.

And we all have many roles in our lives and things we want to accomplish in each one.

Now, imagine a vertical line on that piece of paper. You can call this the ‘soul line’.

The soul line is where you live from. It is about being, not doing.

You can live from high up the ‘soul line’ in elevated states of mind – Joy, presence, inspiration, inner peace and good spirits.

Or you can live from low down on the ‘soul line’ in states of worry, anxiousness, tension, fear or stress.

It’s great to have goals and things you want to aim for in life. More money, a better home, nicer car, professional success, life experiences – nothing wrong with any of these.

But many people are playing the game of life under the illusion that accomplishing things will take you high up the soul line.

It won’t and it can’t.

Why?

Because goals have no inherent quality to them. Yes, you can have the good feeling of accomplishing a goal, but the feeling won’t last because your thinking changes.

So, where does this leave you?

The mind naturally wants to return to stillness and when it does, you naturally rise up the soul line.

No doing is required!

In a world that is obsessed with doing this is often the most difficult thing for people to make sense of.

So, I ask people to remember times when their mind naturally quietens down with no effort (and everyone has these times, no matter how short or infrequent!).

Common answers people give are when exercising, walking in nature, on holiday, driving or when absorbed in a hobby.

These are the times when you allow your mind to relax and let go.

It is as natural as breathing and just like breathing it is useful to do it often!

So, what would make 2020 your best year yet?

Yes, have a plan and goals for yourself, help your clients to do the same, but at the same time realise that life is lived on the soul line.

The clearer we see this for ourselves the better our quality of life becomes and the greater impact we’ll have on the quality of life of the people we serve.

John Dashfield 

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John Dashfield, Dashfield Coaching & Development Ltd