Own Your Work

This Critical Question will Help You Cast The Right Vision For Your Life

• Sonja Holmes

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What if the secret to a fulfilling future lies in your ability to understand your current life season? Join me as we dig into this question and unravel the importance of recognizing your life season when casting a vision for your future. We'll journey through my personal experiences on how I set achievable goals based on my current life season, and how you can do the same. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone wanting to navigate and optimize their life seasons.

 We explore how a clear understanding of your life season can help align your focus with your resources and capacity, ultimately leading to setting realistic expectations and achieving your goals. I'll share my personal journey of finding my voice and how it has positively affected my relationships and overall life alignment. Prepare for a deep and meaningful conversation that will guide you towards a balanced and fulfilling work-life.

https://www.sonjaholmes.com

Speaker 1:

Hey, friends, it's Sonia Holmes here and you're listening to the Own your Work podcast, where I bring you some inspiration and some actionable steps to help you create your best work life. Yet Now you might be saying, well, sonia, what's my best work life? Well, it's one that actually works for you. And, let's be real friends, you know what it ain't working, okay. Well, anyways, friends, I'm so excited about today's topic. We are going to talk about the secret to casting the right vision for your future.

Speaker 1:

Now, first of all, I'm all about having goals and casting a vision, especially when it comes to periods of time and we're coming up on 2024. So it's that time of year when we start thinking about what we've accomplished over the year, the things that we set out to accomplish, and then we start thinking about, you know, what do we want the next year to look like? Right? So, a lot of times, many of us, we have a lot of different practices where we take time to think about our goals, where we, you know, create vision boards and we do all the things and we cast a vision for what we want our life to look like in you know, whether it be the next year, next 18 months, but over a period of time, and one of the things I want to give you is what I like to call my secret weapon to casting the right vision for your future Right. So this is one question. It's asking yourself what season am I in, what season are you in and the reason why this is so beneficial and the reason why this is so important as you start thinking about your goals, as you start thinking about what you want you know your life to look like, whether it be for a certain period of time. The reason why this is so important, I found, is that it helps you to set the right type of goal. It helps you to set realistic goals, but also one that actually does have that right amount of attention. You know it's big enough that it's going to allow you to grow, it's going to get you outside of your comfort zone, but it's actually set and grounded in realistic goals, in the right expectations, so that you don't set yourself up to be disappointed, feeling defeated and discouraged because you set the wrong kind of goal. Maybe it's something that really resonates with you, maybe it's the right goal, but it's just wrong timing in the wrong season. So, knowing what season you are in when it comes to casting your vision, when it comes to setting a goal for your life or whatever is so important, and it's been a game changer for me. So I want to focus this episode on how to discern the season that you are in.

Speaker 1:

So I got a couple of questions that I usually like to ask myself or think about when I'm trying to come up with a vision, when I'm thinking about my goal setting right, and here are the things that I like to think about. Okay, first of all, I think the number one that I always like to ask myself is what are my priorities in this season? What is important to me? What is my priority? What needs to be done? What do I need to be focused on? That's going to be one of the most important things for you to I feel like it's like the threshold. It is, you know, before you start doing everything else and stacking up all the wants and the, you know, the big desires, like we need to figure out what it is that you need to be focused on in the season, right.

Speaker 1:

And so for me, as a mama four right, as you know, a mama four girls when I am setting my priorities or when I'm casting vision, asking myself what my priorities are in the season, which is, you know, taking care of my family, which is, you know, being the kind of mother that I want to be to my girls. Thinking about this thing has become so important to me because there's a lot of great things that I want to do throughout my life, right, there's a lot of great things that you know I want to accomplish. Right, that's on my list of things to do. That. Wouldn't it be cool if? But a lot of those things, although they are good and well and are exciting, it's not realistic for me to focus on that in the season. In fact, it can be counter productive for me to focus on those things, and it can be unrealistic for me to set the wrong kind of expectations of myself, to be doing X, y and Z and all these other things which are good, but in the wrong season.

Speaker 1:

So, when I think about what are my priorities in this season, what do I need to be focused on? What should I be focused on? Right, that is what I'm thinking about. The very most important things for me is being a mom, right, and so I think about that. So I want to encourage you as you are determining what is most important for you, right. When you're casting vision for your future, when you are trying to come up with your goals, right, I want you to ask yourself, before you start thinking about the wants, the want-to's and the desire those are so fun, right. Think about. What do you need to be focused on, right. What are your actual priorities? What do you need to take care of in the season? Right? Where's your focus? So that's number one.

Speaker 1:

The other thing that I like to think about what is this season requiring of me? I mentioned being a mom is important to me, right. The kind of mom that I want to be, but also being realistic about the season that I'm in. Right. What kind of season am I in with my family? I'm a mom of four, but also of four girls that are under the age of nine, so I have to take that into consideration when I'm setting my goals and thinking about the things that I want to do.

Speaker 1:

I know that my time is limited. I know that when I do, you know any kind of planning that things don't always work out the way that I would plan, because when you have four kids under the age of nine, right? This is that crazy time, right, where things don't always go as planned. There's, you know, emergencies, there's accidents, there's, you know, sick days, there's all the things that comes with, you know, being a mom of four, but four at this particular stage, right? So you want to also ask yourself, like, what are their particular stages? Right, you know what your priorities are, but is there a particular stage, right? Or is there a particular phase, or is there something being required of me at this time because of you know, whatever your unique circumstances? Okay, so I think about that.

Speaker 1:

Like I said, my priorities. I think about what my main priorities are, what I need to be focused on in the season, and then I start to go deeper and I try to ask myself, like, what is actually realistic? What does that then mean for me, right? If I'm a mom of four, if I'm also a mom of four of, like, four that's under the age of nine, right? What does that look like for me, right? What are my? What does my days look like, right? And so I start to think about those things, right?

Speaker 1:

Which leads me to the very next question that I think is so important when you're thinking about your season, what season are you in? And, as you discern the season, it's what resources do you actually have? Right, resources and capacity. What does that actually look like for you in this season, during this period of time, during this stage of your life, during whatever is going on right, the things that are important to you, what resources do you have? Now? Resources can look like a lot of different things. It can be like the time that you have, it could be you know your financial resources, right. Sometimes you have the availability to, you know, move things around or outsource things, which gives you more time because of you know your financial situation, right. So what kind of resources do you have at your disposal? What kind of resources do you have in this season?

Speaker 1:

And then also, what does your capacity look like in the season? Right, and I like to think about those things all in one. I think about these things before I start casting, like you know, the vision. Um, so what does my capacity look like? Right, so I think about my time. I think about also, what does my capacity look like emotionally, mentally, right In the season. What does that mean for me being a mom, a working mom? Um, you know, thinking about what I'm going to be focused, focused on. I try to think about also how much, what do I have in me to give? Right, you might have time, but do you have the energy, do you have the emotional capacity to take certain things on? So I try to think about that as as well.

Speaker 1:

So, as I mentioned already, I mentioned, like, what's important to you, right, the priorities in the season. Then I also talked about the, the stage actually knowing what's required of you, and then the resources and your capacity in the season. Right, so I think those are a couple of things that I like to think about when I start thinking about the seasons that I'm in. But the other thing that I really try to think about, and I feel like this, if you even just ask yourself this question, it might even cover, like, the rest for it. So, again, this is an exhaustive list, but I think this exercise of actually thinking about what's important to you and what season you're in, it's so, it's so important. It does help you set the right kind of vision and goals.

Speaker 1:

But this one question, this one question that I think is so important, is there something that you feel led and called to focus on at this time, right? So you might even want to just ask yourself this one question, because that can cover the priorities. You know you'll start thinking about your resources and your capacity and things like that. But is there something that you feel led and called to focus on at this time in the season? Even if you don't feel like this is my life's purpose, like I'm called to do this thing, right, it could be your assignment in the season.

Speaker 1:

So I like to think and I like to tune into myself and ask myself is there something that I'm feeling particularly called to do and feeling led? Is there something that I just can't shake? Is it something that just keeps popping up? Right? And when you think about that thing, what kind of emotions do you feel when you think about that thing? Right? What does your body feel like when you think about that? Right? How does it feel in your body when you start to think about this one particular thing or this one particular area that you want to focus on, as you start passing a vision, right? So this could be a lot of different things, right?

Speaker 1:

Because I know I, you know I'm a mom, you know I work full-time, I'm wife, things get busy and I do have limited time and capacity. So I've simplified, or I try to simplify, my life by trying to focus on like the one thing and, honestly, I feel like I can do a whole episode on like finding the one thing, that one thing that you're gonna be super focused on in a particular season. Right, and sometimes it's a theme and it can be one thing, but there's themes that roll up, but it really does help to simplify things, right. But for me, an example of feeling called in a particular season, like I want to do this thing right, for me, that was finding my voice, using my voice more in a lot of different areas of my life. So, for 2023, I really felt like this was the year of the voice.

Speaker 1:

For me, this was the year that I started to speak up more at work, right, started to speak up more in my personal life, started to speak up more, you know, in relationships, getting in tune with my inner voice and then actually exercising that and speaking the things out, using my voice and sharing my voice and sharing my gift. So what that looked like for me was, you know, obviously, my personal life, when I said yes to one particular thing. I said yes to trying out podcasting and that podcasting, the thing that I wanted to try and the thing that I wanted to explore, it was inlined with that word or that thing that I felt called to focus on in this, you know, season for me, and that was the year of my voice, or the year of finding my voice by tuning it, using my voice, and part of that has, like, I feel like, enabled me to, you know, number one, get in tune with my voice, know what I want, know what I'm thinking, be in tune, what I'm feeling, right, and then actually starting to voice those things, speaking up, asking for the things that I need, asking for the things that I need in particular areas, you know, asking for the things that I want and desire, actually just doing it more. And can I say that I become perfect? That absolutely not. But I can definitely see the growth that I've had over the year, where you know I'm speaking up more for myself, speaking up, sharing my perspective, sharing, you know, my value, questioning things right, and I'm doing that in a lot of different areas of my life. And I'm also sharing my voice because I stepped out and I did something and I started a podcast and I've been doing this since about May. It has been fun, so that is like a project that's been off from me.

Speaker 1:

Just, you know, thinking about what is the thing that I'm gonna be focused on in the season, what am I feeling led to focus on, to prioritize, to think about? And for me it was finding my voice, which has, you know, been in both my relationships at work as well, and then practicing and exercising that, which one of those playing fields I told you, the podcast has become really like a playing ground. It's become a place for me to practice using my voice, sharing my perspective, right. Also, it's been a place for me to show up for myself. So it's been a phenomenal journey and again, I thank you, thank you so much for just being on this journey with me. But this was something that was also birthed out of, you know, me taking the time to cast the vision for myself and thinking about those things and knowing what season I was in and what I could realistically focus on in the season. So that's one example, right, that's my personal example.

Speaker 1:

But knowing your season, again, the season that you're in, you're gonna say yes to the right things, you're gonna say yes to the right type of projects right, the ones that'll grow you, the ones that ignite excitement, but the ones that are actually grounded in realistic expectations as well, too. It's that perfect balance of the two which is so important when it comes to creating a work life that works for us, a life that you know like one that actually works for you, okay, one where you feel aligned, where you feel fulfilled. I feel like knowing your season is so super important, and it's been amazing for me, something that I continually try to exercise and I work on, but it really helps me to stay grounded in a comeback to you know, the one thing that I'm focused on, the one thing that I said that is important to me this season, the one thing or the things that I said I need to prioritize. It helps me to think about the things like my capacity, the resources that I have, what I can actually give so I can set the right kind of goals and have realistic expectations for myself. So, yep, that's it, friends. Knowing the season that you are in is so important, and I hope that, as you go into 2024 and as you start thinking about your goals, you start thinking about, you know, your vision and, you know, maybe working on your vision board and all those different things.

Speaker 1:

I really wanna encourage you to think about the season that you're in.

Speaker 1:

What's important to you in the season? What are your priorities? What needs to happen in the season, right? What does your life look like in the season? What kind of resources do you have? What kind of capacity do you have physically, mentally, emotionally? What's your capacity right? How much time do you have?

Speaker 1:

What's realistic for you to expect of yourself at this time, during this period, with all of those things you know, with your priorities in mind, and is there something that you feel particularly called to do that keeps tugging at your heart at this time, that just says, like, try this thing, focus on this thing. What if? What if you were to do this? What if you were to give it a shot? I wanna encourage you to think about the season that you are in, all right. Well, friends, I think that's it for today, and you know I've said it before. I think I've said it at the end of every episode, so you know how this is gonna end. Friends, until next time, remember there's so much more to you than the work that you do. Own your work, don't let work, own you all right. Until next time, friends, bye.