New Year, New You ! … or so TV programmes, newspapers etc. would have us believe every January.
I am going to believe that’s true.
I don’t want to live this year as a repeat of last year. I’m going to believe in possibilities and adventure, and I am going to be optimistic and courageous.
What’s on your “to be” list in 2022?
Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born on 5th May 1864 in Pennsylvania, USA. She became known by her pen name Nellie Bly, after she started writing for the Pittsburg Dispatch newspaper in 1885.
She broke the mould at the time as she was one of the first female journalists to write about a broad range of topics and not just those that were perceived to b be female issues. One of her most renowned pieces of journalism related to her investigation of how patients were treated at an asylum in New York. Her under-cover work eventually led to improvements in patient care.
Nellie gained even more fame when she undertook an adventure based on the fictional book “Around the World in 80 Days” by Jules Verne. Twenty-five year old, Nellie did the trip in 72 days arriving back in New Jersey on 25th
January 1890. She was pleased to have beaten Phileas Fogg’s record (albeit a record noted in a book of fiction) and perhaps more importantly, pleased to have challenged the stereotypical view of women at the time.
The 27th January 2022, marks 100 years since Nellie passed away but her courageous and adventurous spirit remains celebrated in various plays, novels and TV shows
To Do or Not To Do – Is that the question?
Do you start every day with a To Do list? Is every item that’s not completed on that day carried over to the next day? Do you ever “spring-clean” your To Do list? Is the To Do list approach serving you well?
James Clear in his book “Atomic Habits”, makes the point that when we concentrate on outcomes, i.e. the items we tick off our To Do list, we are not necessarily making lasting changes to our behaviour or habits.
In order to have the outcome of a fit and healthy body, I could have “go to gym” on my To Do list and I might tick this off a few times a week but whilst hopefully I would be gradually getting fitter, would going to the gym always feel like a chore?
James advises that how we see ourselves influences what we do, which in turn influences the outcomes we achieve.
Identity -> Behaviour -> Outcomes
So if I believed myself to be a healthy person, my natural behaviour would be to exercise and make good decisions around food which would lead to the outcome I want.
When we create To Do lists, we are trying to achieve outcomes and whilst that approach can be successful for us, it may not create lasting behaviour changes.
I could put “write a blog” on my to-do list and this is an outcome that I could achieve. But if my goal is to be a blogger, do I put “write a blog” on my to-do list every day?
James Clear’s argument is that if I focus on my identity rather than the outcome, I might have a greater chance of longer term success. So perhaps I should have a To Be list rather than a To Do list.
If I am going to BE a blogger or a writer, this starts to change how I see myself and will influence how I behave leading to the outcomes I wish to achieve.
Maybe January is a good time to replace “To Do” lists with “To Be” lists?
“The only thing more important than your to-do list is your to-be list. The only thing more important than your to-be list is to be.” Alan Cohen
“Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.
Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them.” J.R.R. Tolkien ‘The Hobbit’
Sinead Huskisson 