I’m participating in the 31 Days to Reset Your Life program at Happy Black Woman. The program is designed to help you evaluate your goals and priorities and think of them in the context of your life today and how you might be able to refocus on what’s important. Read on to learn about my experience with the challenge!
Yesterday I determined my top ten values, today is the beginning of envisioning these values in action. I started out by rating each value on a scale of 1-10 of how I’m acting them out today. I actually feel I’m living all of them (except having a family of course) more than a 5, so that’s good.
But Part 2 was more enlightening for me, because that’s where I went into depth about what it means to see these values in action. I wrote three actions I currently take or could be taking for each value. Here’s a few of the a-ha moments I had.
Leaving a legacy / Making a difference: While I rated myself as lower on leaving a legacy and higher on making a difference, when I was challenged to think of actions that fit with each area, I actually wrote the same three thoughts!
- Impacting others through my actions and attitude
- Paying it forward at every opportunity
- Creating big, lasting change
It’s made me realize that I define leaving a legacy and making a difference in the same way. It’s important to me to make a difference to others around me, and through that difference I make, I impact the way others act, which will maintain its ripple effect. I strongly believe in the power of one.
Being a role model: The idea of being a role model sounds wonderful but where do you begin to describe it? Here’s what I came up with.
- Always showing compassion and generosity
- Living my values with balance
- Showing strong conviction
Being an introvert, showing strong conviction is not normally something I consciously strive for. However, in thinking of it in context of being a role model, it makes a lot of sense. A role model is someone who doesn’t just have beliefs, she acts on behalf of them. That’s something I strive to do more in my life.
Connecting with others: My first thoughts in this regard is of course strengthening the already strong relationships with those I love. But I was surprised that my mind also led me in the direction of new connections.
- Spending time with friends who challenge me to talk deeply and consider what I’m saying
- Open myself to new people and perspectives
- Put myself in new situations where I learn from others
Truly opening myself up to others is something I hope to improve on. Because I want to experience as many different types of people and personalities I can; it will only strengthen my knowledge and confidence!
This was a great exercise. It made me realize which of those top ten really are the ones I’m passionate about and which ones I’d like to delve further into. Who knew that I subconsciously was hoping I would show strong conviction?
-N.C.
Thank you for sharing your reflections here. I appreciate you adding your voice to the 31 Day Reset! This continues to be one of the exercises that I always come back to so that I can remind myself to stay in alignment with my values. As a fellow introvert, I can say that one of the most valuable things I’ve learned is how to show quiet conviction. I don’t need to be the megaphone shouting to the masses from the rooftops, but I’m happy to be able to reach a handful of people who wish to join me on my journey.
Rosetta,
I love the term quiet conviction. It allows us to see conviction as a far reaching concept that encompasses so much more than just being stubborn. Conviction gets a bad rap sometimes, and I love thinking of it as something that can help me act with enhanced integrity.
It’s truly my pleasure to participate in the 31 Day Reset. Thank you so much for helping us along this journey and contributing your invaluable voice as well!
Chapin