Economic volatility. Rising prices. War. Pressure on budgets. Interest rates. Everywhere we look these days, there’s something else that affects the way we live.
When your mind feels full, especially with events or concerns out of your control, it’s easy for emotions to affect your decision-making ability. And it’s in those moments when we encourage you to remain focused on your long-term goals and the strategy you have in place.
It’s essential to be actively mindful and stay focused on your long-term goals that align with your core values. But how can we be mindful in the present about something like long-term goal planning?
Harvard professor of leadership and business Arthur Brooks demystifies mindfulness for us, defining it simply as “noticing new things.” Here is his three-step process:
- “Use learned optimism to dream up and set long-term goals.”
Let yourself go and dream away. Where would you like to be 20, 10, or maybe 5 years from now? Yes, write down those long-term goals that you’d like to achieve as well—not so you can brood over them every day and try to mold every action in life to their achievement, but just to bring a sense of clarity to your prospection and offer some inspiration with intention. - “Now break those goals into sub-steps.”
If it was a 10-year goal, where do you need to be in five years, one year, one month, and one week? As we rein in our timeline, we’re getting progressively closer to the present, enabling us to transform prospection into mindfulness through this final step. - “Live in day-tight compartments—that sets a goal for being fully alive over the next 24 hours.”
This term, “day-tight compartments,” originated with William Osler but was popularized by Dale Carnegie—in the 1930s, way before mindfulness was trendy. Yet it’s precisely the way to describe a practical approach to mindfulness. Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. Focus on the tasks at hand for the day.
Stay mindful, friends. As always, we welcome a talk about any insights or concerns.
