Who (or what) most needs your attention?

I recently had the curtain lifted around a key piece of my business. An expensive project I worked on with a business partner over a year ago wasn’t executed well and it was becoming increasingly clear it needed to be addressed. I was angry, frustrated and confused at how this had happened. Then I felt defeated, and snuck off in a corner to sulk and lick my wounds.

But then last week I finally dug in and began to tackle this issue head-on. I started the hard work of a)looking at what happened with absolute honesty, b)owning my part in the dance and c)beginning to research how I wanted to move forward and who could help. Then, last Friday, I took two decisive steps towards resolving this massive mistake and I was surprised at how good I felt. I stopped procrastinating or wishing this hadn’t happened (or would just resolve itself) and handled what most needed my attention.

Everything isn’t crystal clear and the jumbled ball of twine is far from being unraveled and resolved, but by being willing to address this, I felt in absolute integrity …. with myself. I had my back. I was owning my power.

What issue, person, scenario or conversation has been calling for your attention and energy over the last month?

It’s so easy in life—especially at work—to feel productive, sated, worthwhile because we’re seemingly “getting stuff done.” But often we’re not focusing on what matters most: what needs to happen or get resolved to create true success or to get us to where we *really* want to go.

Consider the following questions:
• What or who am I avoiding: what most needs my attention *right now* ?
• What are the key steps I need to take to get this handled?
• Who–if needed–can help me with the languaging, perspective or best approach for resolving this issue?
• How do I desire to feel after I’ve handled the issue or conversation?

We are all here to contribute, serve and make an impact—in ways both big and small. We’re not here to plow through endless to-do lists, succumbing to the “seduction of productivity and busy-ness.” We’re here to do OUR WORK—whatever that is—and grow and evolve as people, parents, artists, workers and spiritual beings.

Who or what most needs your attention right now? Do this FIRST. Give yourself the gift of freedom and lightness of being this holiday by attending to what’s front and center. Then, curl up by the fire with a mug of your favorite beverage reveling in the fact that you put on your big girl (or boy) panties and faced what you most need to handle in order to be in absolute alignment with yourself. And then—I promise– you will feel so good and grateful that you’re entering the New Year with courage, clarity and a greater sense of purpose than you’ve ever had before. Let me know how it goes, I’ll be cheering for you!

JOIN ME IN JANUARY FOR A RETREAT: Two opportunities to learn the art/science of self-care and gain clarity/focus as you move into 2016. Join me Jan. 8th for a one-day retreat: New Way of Being: Winter Self-Renewal Retreat at a sweet, cozy, venue nested in the piney woods, just east of Austin. Already half-full, register today; early bird ends tonight! And if you can carve out a weekend, join me Friday night-Sunday noon for my soulful, meditative New Way of Being: Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at the beautiful, restful Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, MA. I look forward to celebrating my 50th birthday with you at both of these events!  More about both events here.

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by life balance teacher/coach/self-care evangelist and Career Strategists president, Renée Peterson Trudeau. Offering custom workshops, women’s retreats, training/certification, books/telecourses and individual career coaching, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Spirituality & Health and more. Thousands of women in ten countries are becoming RTA-Certified Facilitators and leading/joining self-care groups based on her award-winning curriculum.  She is the author of The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal and Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Reconnect and Find Peace in Everyday Life. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and 13 year-old son. More on her background here.