There is perhaps a little lull in our lives between the election and whatever comes next. This lull, if you are experiencing life that way, might be a golden opportunity to think about 2021 and your next steps.
In kirism, we talk about “doing the next right thing” as a central ethical intention. We connect this intention to ideas about life purpose choosing and meaning-making. What might a “big” next right thing be for the coming year, taking your life purpose choices and your meaning-making efforts into account?
What effort might connect to one of your life purpose choices, feel ethically robust, and come with some prospect of feeling meaningful? This could be “the same old thing” reinvigorated with a new sense of purpose and passion or it could be a brand-new thing, maybe something a little mysterious, grand, and magical. What might it be?
I invite you to take a few minutes this winter Saturday to ask yourself the following pair of questions, “Which of my life purpose choices do I want to focus on?” and “With respect to that life purpose choice, what’s the next right thing for me to do there?”
We are all feeling daunted and dulled by circumstances. Given what we have been through and what we can predict is coming, maybe it’s time to add some new life purpose choices to our menu of such choices. Maybe something is either newly important or more important than it was before.
Take activism. Maybe activism was always on your list of life purpose choices but rather near the bottom, almost off the page. And maybe the Trump era, the near-death of democracy, and the stark reality of 75,000,000 of your fellow citizens voting for a tyrant has forced it up the list, maybe all the way to the top. If so, then this may be the perfect moment to consider what your new activist role might be in 2021.
First, create your up-to-date list of life purposes. Maybe you’ll find items on it like basic survival, health, career, relationships, service, creativity, activism, parenting, and half-a-dozen other items. Look at each item with your December 2020 eyes, through the lens of recent events and your current reality. It’s likely that each one needs updating. Do that updating.
Then pick one to focus on. Which will it be and how would you like to focus on it in 2021?
By giving it more time? By making some fundamental change? By upgrading your personality so that you are more equal to attending to it? Form an intention with respect to that prime choice, then align your thoughts with that intention, and get ready to align your behaviors. 2021 will be here soon.
For it to be a year filled with purpose, this is the work that needs doing.
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Eric Maisel is the author of 50+ books. You can learn more about him at www.ericmaisel.com, subscribe to all of his blog posts at https://authory.com/ericmaisel, learn more about kirism here, and write him at [email protected]
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