The way to do is to be

It’s spring! Chinese New Year of the Ox. A time for self-reflection, new beginnings… and a very personal enquiry from Yvette Masure.

Yvette Masure

Overseas Member: Portugal

So who do you aspire to be in 2021?

Words are powerful! But can New Year’s resolutions actually help?

There is strong scientific evidence to suggest that people who know themselves – and how others see them – make smarter decisions, as well as being happier, better communicators, and more creative.

And for the sceptics among you, I say: we live in a world rich in distraction, so invest in yourself… to be of better service to those around you.

Of course, it needs extra intention and focus to do so. Let us look towards the future, rooted in the wisdom of the past and with a little bit of help from Lao Tsu.

‘When I let go of who I am I become what I might be. Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power’

To begin I suggest you choose one or a few words to guide yourself through 2021: to rekindle something inside you, to encourage you, to move you in a different direction.

Reset 〉 reinvent 〉 restore

A word, or a few, to help you tune up more consciously in the year ahead, perhaps bringing out another aspect of your character, as yet dormant.

New ideas are required in these challenging times. Let yourself grow.

‘There is a time to live and a time to die but never to reject the moment’

Find a genetic word or words: I like collaboration and connection, both needed in 2021. Measure yourself, finding an intention to move you, a beacon of light to nourish your selfdevelopment in the year ahead. ‘Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it’

If you are characteristically inwards and deep thinking, look towards the more outwardly-focused you. If you are outgoing, or spontaneous, take time over this, be thoughtful and questioning. Give yourself time, to grow.

List a few of your favourite words: Words that invoke something meaningful.

Words are power after all.

Collaboration and connection evoke imagery to me, of the honeybee, and other such animals that survive and thrive.

What imagery do your words evoke? Share the imagery and story behind your words. Write it down. Discuss with someone.

For me, bees are habitual, and they serve a purpose to maintain the ecosystem in natural habitat, that the laws of nature provide. They also live on the wing, and flow with the seasons, opportunity along the way… finding nectar, their intention. What is your intention?

Create values: Constellations around your chosen word or words. The values give you more insight into the person you would like to grow into. They influence the type of decisions you will make.

Now join with other explorers around a shared purpose. Think of who can help you, and who you can help. Work with energy multipliers.

All in all, have fun doing this. Be playful with yourself. Allow yourself to grow joyfully. ‘Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing’

Habits and intentions: Work on changing behaviours. The best way is habit building. We are what we do.

Yes, acting out new behaviours could seem or feel superficial initially. But new habits take root.

New ideas shared bring it to fruition. New friends and colleagues outside your existing area of focus broaden your horizon. Find someone in your existing network who you have not connected with for over a year.

‘Time is a created thing. To say “I don’t have time” is like saying, I don’t want to’

Spend five minutes, five days, five weeks reflecting on what your word or words are.

Invest in yourself. Explore yourself. You are allowed to ‘not want to’. Just see who you are, how you feel, and work from there.

First and foremost, be kind to yourself. Love yourself as you are.

Be more conscious and intentional about life, your life, by giving it a wonderful… reboot 〉 refresh 〉 to regenerate… that brings a momentum and direction, through the complexities of Life.

‘The wise man is one who knows what he does not know’

‘A man with outward courage dares to die, a man with inward courage, dares to live’

Health is wealth.