Best Year Yet

by Diana Baysinger,  Best Year Yet Partner and Trainer

 
Each year at the end of December, I look forward to making my new Best Year Yet plan. I have been creating Best Year Yet plans for 12 years, and what I have noticed is how the paradigms that emerged each year tracked my growth and development. It has been an extraordinary ride through my 50’s and into my 60’s as I have grown more and more confident in the passion and purpose I experience in my life.

Eleven years ago when I was first introduced to BYY, I was celebrating my 17^th year as a successful Licensed Marriage and Family therapist in private practice, my sons had been launched into their own lives, and I was looking forward to kicking back and taking more time for myself and my own life. I had spent the majority of my life living up to other people’s expectations and so it was not surprising that the answer to Best Year Yet Question 4, my most limiting paradigm, was “Everyone else’s needs come first.”

I was not accustomed to thinking through what I wanted; I was more focused on what others wanted. The discipline of setting goals that reflected what I wanted in my life was challenging. My paradigm that year was ”I am important.” During that first year, I began to travel and took 4 weeks off during the summer to spend time with family in Maine.

These simple words led to more conscious choices, and it was the beginning of a mindset that has set me free to live what I know now to be my true purpose. It took me two years to relax into this new mindset as I moved from other limiting paradigms such as, “It is too hard to learn new things” to “I have all the resources I need to be successful.”

My “I am important” paradigm carried me through a year when my coaching business began to blossom. It took on a life of its own, and I was challenged to keep up with all the new things I was learning and using in my service. My work expanded from the United States into Europe and I spent time in the Netherlands with colleagues and friends. Thanks to my paradigm I took a 5-day cycling trip with friends down the Danube River.

By the 5^th year, I was feeling a shift from the conscious effort I made to live into the paradigm to a relaxation and trust in living from my paradigm.  I was more creative and aligned with trust in the higher good that kept presenting itself to me. I felt a reconnection with something that had always been present in my life and was now embedded in my daily practice.

My faith grew ~ Forward Action Inspired by a Trust in a Higher Power. During this timeframe, I developed new business partnerships and started working with non-profit organizations, colleges and a local foundation.

Over the last five years I have felt a depth of gratitude. Yes, even through the economic challenges, I have felt a depth of gratitude for the things that I cherish most: family, friends, fun, faith, health and service. My paradigms have kept me focused on these most valuable parts of life. When it comes to these things, I am a wealthy woman.

Recently, I was asked to step up and claim my role as a leader. I felt uncomfortable about the suggestion and yet when I was making my paradigm I challenged myself to break through the discomfort and take a stab at a paradigm that would reflect the suggestion. My first attempt at the new paradigm for 2012 was, “I am an extraordinary leader who makes a difference in the world.” I let that sit for a few days and all of a sudden the one that really resonated came to me and this is the one I declare for 2012.

“I lead from the inside out, making dreams come true
for myself and the people I serve.”

Once again my paradigm challenged me to move from an outside influence to the inside and align with what is most true for me. As you think about this year, think about the paradigm you want to live from, declare it and live it and watch the miracles of passion and purpose come alive in your own life.

If you would like to receive a free half-hour consultation with your BYYO plan for 2012, please click here and then write to me diana.baysinger@gmail.com to book a time for us to meet.

by Ashoka Gore, Best Year Yet Program Leader in Australia 

Let us imagine that we are making our 2012 Best Year Yet Plan and have reached Question 6 – What Roles Do I Play in My Life? In my opinion this is a really important and crucial question and will play a huge role in how successfully we live our year.

A majority of us have a major day activity five days a week from Monday to Friday, and for some there is also additional work on Saturday and Sunday. Let us give this role the name of “Major Activity” and keep it aside for a while.  Now explore the other activities that we get involved in, such as Family, Friend, Self Coach or Caretaker, and close personal relationships such as Wife, Husband, Partner, Son, or Daughter.

All the other things that we do in our lives such as Community/Social activities, Charity work, Volunteering, Religious pursuits, Sports – playing and/or watching, Family and Home welfare and well-being (financial and physical), Artistic pursuits, Hobbies, Second or third jobs make up the remaining three roles.

Now let us have a look at how much time do we have in a week. There are 7 days in a week with 24 hours in a day which means that we have 168 hours in total. Let us make two main assumptions, firstly we sleep 7 hours per day and work 5 days a week working in total 40 hours and use 3 hours per day to get ready for work and travelling time – total 104 hours. We are effectively left with 64 hours per week to distribute across the 7 roles.

Time is an extremely precious commodity that is equal and fair to all beings, does not discriminate or play favorites, does not judge or criticize –  just simply exists. We know when the clock started but know not when it will stop, while knowing for sure that for all of us it will definitely stop.

Being aware of how much time we have at our disposal week to week and knowing the importance of life balance, we are in a better position to select which 7 roles besides the ‘Major Activity’ will help us live our Values and achieve the Results that we seek.

The next step I propose is to imagine an ideal week in which you have a chance to devote time and attention to each of your Roles. Map out each day starting with when you wake up to when you sleep and allocate time to each Role as appropriate and allow for other things that one has to do – such as pet care / exercise, housework, meals, shopping, reading newspapers /books/magazines, Internet, Mobile phones and Tablets and so on. You will be amazed how little time is left for the Roles that you decided were most important.

It is no wonder then that the Goals we set for ourselves are so difficult to accomplish because we have not matched the time required to successfully complete the Goals to the time that we have available.  Having a role to be your ‘Major Focus’ in the year is effectively selecting a role that will get your full Focus and Commitment and be first in line to get allocated the precious commodity – TIME.   This role must be the last thing that is sacrificed.

Recognize the time-wasters and let them go, be aware and never be stuck with Time on hand but nothing to do – carry your Best Year Yet Ppan with you at all times. Learn to say ‘No’, and find innovative ways to multitask so that you can get more from your day.

Make the most of every day and have your Best Year Yet.