There is a quote from the poem, The Summer Day, by Mary Oliver. “What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Each time I read or hear this quote, it reminds me to pay attention. To value each day. To lean more into Thoughtful Leadership – being more present, more intentional, and more authentic.
Somewhere during the holiday season, it dawned on me that paying attention and valuing each day didn’t have to be only a lifetime quest. I realized that looking at the year to come, this wild and precious next year I have, might be a good thing. A very good thing.
I offer it to you as well.
The days go by quickly. They add up to a year sometimes seemingly instantly. By being more Thoughtful – about what we do and how we do it; about whom we’re with and how we’re with them; about what we pay attention to and what kind of attention we pay – we make it more likely that our year will be what we want it to be.
So that it can be more wild and precious. Probably more productive and powerful. Probably more fun.
As Executive Coaches, we can’t and won’t tell you what you should do with your year or your life. However, we can and will suggest that you ponder this question, and we’ll help you to come up with ways to do so.
Here is what’s worked for us and our clients in the past:
- Quiet time to reflect – Perhaps you like to journal or perhaps you like to draw. Perhaps you like to simply sit quietly and imagine. Whatever works for you, set aside some time to reflect on where (and how) you are and where (and how) you’d like to be. On what really matters to you. On what you’d like to accomplish and how you want to be in the world – with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers – every day.
- Dream big – This is the time to let the sky (or beyond) be your limit. To look deeply inside of you and also to open yourself to possibilities. Have you wanted to finally write that book, perform with the local theater company, research and lead a new project at work, spend more time artistically, spend more time with family and friends? Let yourself imagine and see what you have to learn from yourself.
- Document it in some way to hold yourself to it – Even, or especially, when we’ve given ourselves time and space to dream and decide what we want and what we want to do, it can be so easy to slip back into life as usual. However, when we also make the time and commitment to capture our thoughts and dreams and promises to ourselves, we’re more likely to stick with them and do them.
- Appreciate all you have while you’re dreaming of where you want to go and be – Many of you know I had cancer a few years back. Probably many of you don’t know that I just had a scare and I’m clear and clean. I take it as the biggest easy wakeup call the universe has ever given me. It made me open my heart, mind, and soul to even more appreciation of each day and life – my wild and precious life. It also made me truly want to plan out everything I want to do, so that I make sure I do it. And I am not a planner. It made me go through (and document) these steps.
We have this one wild and precious year – 2025. There will be many, many more, but this is the one we have right now to live right now. Now is the time to feel and think through how we want it to be and how we want ourselves to be, so that we can do it.
What do you want from this wild and precious year?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
For partnership in making this YOUR year, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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