Now is the time to decide what matters
- Business, Cyclical & Seasonal Living, Mindset & Self-Trust, Personal Growth, Planning & Strategy
- Written by Denise Oliver
In the past September has always had a way of making me feel as though I should be getting organised. For so many years September was associated with back-to-school and settling my children into new classes and all that entailed.
By the time they went back to school lots of new stuff had been bought – uniforms, shoes, pens, etc.
And for me, my mind would immediately go to Christmas, after all it is just weeks away at this point and it’s the next major holiday. And do you know what, I am still like this today. I have my diary planned out until Christmas already.
There’ s nothing wrong with this as having goals and targets gets things done. Right?
Sometimes, though, I wonder whether I have become so accustomed to setting these goals and targets that I rarely stop to ask a more important question: What actually matters to me now?
The problem with having too many goals
When you are running your own business, there is always something else you could be working towards – whether that is more clients, more income, more visibility, more social media followers, a bigger email list, another qualification, etc.
Have you noticed how the possibilities are endless?
I think that this is particularly difficult when you are an intelligent, curious woman with lots of ideas who genuinely wants to do all of these things.
But here’s the thing… wanting to do something is not the same as it being important enough for you to give your time and energy to it, right now.
That distinction matters, because every priority creates a boundary around everything else.
What matters now?
So, instead of beginning your September business planning with: “What do I want to achieve?“. Try asking this question: “What matters most to me at this point in my business and my life?“
Is it creating more consistent income? Perhaps you want to finally make space for an idea that has been sitting in the back of your mind. Or perhaps you want your business to become simpler so that you can work fewer hours?
None of these answers is more ambitious than another. They are simply different. And that is the point.
A quiet moment
Before you move on, take a moment to think about your own answer – what matters most to you right now?
Not what you think should matter, or what everyone else seems to be working towards. And not what you think you ought to achieve before the end of the year.
Instead what matters to you.
You don’t need to turn your answer into a goal yet. Simply notice it.
Your business does not have to look like everyone else's
There is a particular pressure in business to measure progress using visible things, such as growth, revenue, reach, numbers, and more.
But your version of a successful business might include things that don’t show up neatly on a spreadsheet. What might yours be?
Mine are these…
- Having time to think in quietness
- I have to do work that I genuinely care about
- I also need to have enough energy left at the end of the day to enjoy my life, gardening in summer for instance
All of these things and more count to me. In fact, they may be just the things that make the business worth creating in the first place.
Try this instead of setting another list of goals
Take a quiet moment and complete these three sentences:
- At this stage of my business, what matters most to me is…
- I have been giving too much attention to…
- I would like to make more room for…
Don’t try to produce the perfect answers or immediately turn them into a five point action plan. Instead, simply notice what comes up.
Remember, clarity does not always arrive as a perfectly formed strategy. Sometimes it arrives when you finally stop listening to all the other voices long enough to hear your own.
The quiet shift
Perhaps this is where your thinking about business begins to change.
Instead of asking only, “What can my business produce?” What if we can also ask: “What is my business creating in my life?”
What is it creating… Would that be more freedom or inner confidence? What about meaningful relationships or choice or space or joy?
These things may not all appear on your business plan or in your financial figures, but they matter and when you begin to include them in the picture of success, the decisions you make about your business can start to look different too.
That is the quiet shift – from simply building a business that achieves more, to creating one that gives something meaningful back to you.
A gentle invitation
Before you set another business goal, pause and ask yourself: “What matters most to me right now?”
Choose one answer.
Then let that answer influence what you say yes to, what you say no to, and where you place your attention over the coming months.
You don’t need to pursue everything. You only need to make room for what matters.
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