January 1, 2021. The start of the New Year. The Year of You.
January’s Theme: Identity
Question: What are the different roles you play in your life (e.g. mother, partner, sister, etc.). List as many as you can think of.
Answer: father, partner, friend, dog owner, golfer, exercise fanatic, brother, catalyst, advisor, supporter, encourager. I’m sure there’s more roles that I play, but I gave myself one minute to come up with my list. Some of these roles I play much better than others.
Nice, simple way to start. I know they’ll get harder, but that’s okay.
During morning workout (indoor cycling), this morning, watched a video. I think if you’re on this journey with me, you’ll want to check it out. It’s Marie Forleo (Marie TV) interviewing Tony Robbins on the topic, “What It Takes To Have an Extraordinary Life.” ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING video (about an hour long) on strategies to live an extraordinary life.
- Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuFysBXxMUw
A few takeaways/points to ponder:
- What do I want for my life TODAY? I don’t have to settle. I don’t have to tolerate the life I have, even if it’s good. I want great, magnificent, and outstanding. I want life on MY terms.
- What holds us back most? Suffering. Raise the bar on suffering so you can see it for what it is and realize that you can free yourself from it. It’s a matter of controlling your thoughts. Make the commitment: “I will not suffer any more.
- “You can free yourself when you trade your expectations for appreciation.”
There are a ton more nuggets in the video, but these are three that really hit home for me most. In the Spring, I’m teaching a course, “HHS135: Redesign a Life You’ll Love” and I think I’m going to have my students watch the video and share at least two takeaways from the video. Please share any thoughts you might have in the comments section after you watch the video.
Day 1 is complete – looking forward to the next 364 days!
The Dream Dean 
Roles that I play: wife, mother, friend, woman, dog mom, walker, reader, lifelong learner, supporter, challenger, mindful learner of anti-racist strategies, coffee drinker, mentor, trainer, advisor, babysitter, cousin, dogwalker, cat-lover, millennial, homemaker, student affairs professional, and a part-time librarian.
I would re-order that if I went through it – today was a stream-of-conscious listing of roles. 🙂
Can I borrow some of the roles on your list? And I think stream of conscious is the best way to go!
Of course you can. 🙂
I am a big Tony Robbins fan, I particularly love how he approaches reframing our lives by reframing the questions that we ask ourselves. My favorite quote of his “our failures are not due to a lack of resources, it’s a lack of resourcefulness”.
Hmm… My roles…
Wife, student of life (aka life-long learner), writer, cook, at-home chef, leader, sister, daughter, dog mom, community builder, enthusiastic eater, explorer, sharer, connector.
I love your “Catalyst” role. I would add to your list: inspirer, thought-provoker, and motivator.
Thanks Chelsea…you’re so awesome!