As you know, every year I create a FOCUS list. The FOCUS list is an assessment of one’s heart and spirit, and it helps us to know where to put our time, talent, and treasure for the upcoming months. (Create your own 2019 FOCUS list here.)
It’s been fascinating to watch the lists through the years. Some elements – spirituality, writing – remain constant. Other items move in and out, or up and down, in focus.
This year, as I worked through the exercise, it was immediately clear that in 2019 I would concentrate on strengthening my foundations. Health, home, work, community, creativity, spirituality, even time itself – all the focus is on ensuring my base is solid.
This makes sense to me. You see, I believe that life has three stages: childhood; first adulthood; second adulthood. In the first stage, childhood, we grow to maturity. That process isn’t complete at age 18 or 21; for most of us, it ‘sets’ around age 30.
Our first adulthood is the ‘trial run’, so to speak. It’s where we immerse ourselves in growing our careers, families, passions – it’s the nose-to-the-grindstone phase, where we learn our lessons and make our mistakes. That phase seems to last about another 30 years.
Then comes the prize, the payoff for all that painful growth. It’s our second adulthood, where we get to reap the benefit of all that experience. We can throw ourselves into life with confidence, because we’ve been here before. This time, we know our way around. We can enjoy life, enjoy others, enjoy ourselves.
But just like the first two stages of life, we want to be sure we’re proceeding with a firm foundation. Thus my need to focus on the very structure of my time, energy, and purpose.
I can’t wait.
Ariyawen 