We are quickly approaching that time of year where we want to get cozy, skip hair washing, drink warm things all day, make soup, flick on the hallmark channel, and stay in. The late fall months are when we tend to allow ourselves to slip into hibernation mode. We are quick to let go of the goals we eagerly set in the beginning of the year, let the habits we worked so hard to instill slide, and ultimately and unintentionally delay our own progress. It all starts when the weather changes, the holiday season emerges, and we find out mood and energy levels are impacted in a different way than they are in the summer.

I am not sure if it’s the challenges of the holidays albeit a “wonderful time of year” are often full of sadness as we remember those who are no longer here to celebrate with us. For many it will be the first string of holidays without that special someone we miss so much.

Needless to say, the season tends to bring about a different energy and we usually succumb to its inviting lull. When our moods change so do our minds and how they work.

I want to take sometime today to encourage you to lead with your mind and not with your mood!

I want to empower you to enter (and or keep) activation mode over hibernation mode this season. This one key decision will be the ONE thing that determines how you finish out the year, and you better believe that I am ALL about a BIG FINISH!!!! I am all about running through the tape, instead of giving up a quarter mile before the finish line. I am all about those final quarter adjustments that enable you to win the game.

Activation requires intentionality. Activation requires a hyper focused mindset, one of determination and grit! Why? Because to achieve this you are going to have to swim against the current and the temptation to settle in with the status-quo—basically everyone else who will fall into their annual pattern of hibernation, stagnation, and goal depreciation. But NOT you, and not this year. Remember if you want different results, if you wanna refrain from living the same year again you are going to have to show up different, you are going to have to take different actions, and you are going to activate yourself, because no one is going to do it for you.

Now you know that I am not going to just tell you what you need to do, let’s talk about what it looks like and how to make sure you don’t fall into the trap, and instead front load the end of your year with the thinking that’s going to put you ahead.

Let’s start with activating your goals, activating the thinking required to overcome the moments when we are going to need the extra support, and activate the actions that are going to maximize the last weeks of 2022.

Activating Goals:

– Identify the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year
– Evaluate your progress toward those goals
o 10 -tracking
o 5- minimal progress
o 0- oopsy
– Prioritize the goals you have set for yourself and consider setting a new one.
o Make any realistic modifications
o Which goals matter most, is there one we need to table to the new year so that we can give it the required planning and strategy
– Plan out what needs to take place to achieve that goal
o Identify daily actions (small steps to get your there)
o Pre-Identify obstacles, temptations, challenges ahead of time and plan for how you will respond/react/ pre-determine alternate actions/behaviors so you have a plan in place when you encounter the challenge (this is actually one of the most proactive things you can do for yourself in any given situation, when you plan for failure you prepare for success)

Now that you have put yourself into the beginning phase of activation mode, let’s talk about what is next.

Now we have to start thinking about what we are going to have to change to ensure that we don’t just get into activation mode, but so that we can remain in that mode.

Ask yourself, and if you’re feeling extra inspired let’s jot down some responses to these self-reflective questions:

1. What do I need to change about what I BELIEVE is possible for myself?
2. What do I need to change about the way I THINK?
3. What actions do I need to put into place to help myself be more successful during this season of activation?
4. Who do I need to call in for support/accountability? Why?
5. What will I feel like when I accomplish these goals and make intended progress by the end of the year?

In order to activate success you have to activate yourself. In order to activate, inspiration, motivation, or whatever it is that you are looking for and desire, know that it will always START with YOU. You hold the key, you flip the switch, you are ultimately the only one in control of your outcomes. Your path may have been pre-paved by a greater force, but you determine how much of that path you walk.

You see this is where your mind matters. This is where you must make sure you are in charge of your thoughts otherwise your mood and the moods of others will creep in and steal the energy required for activation, and surely force you into that inevitable funk that has a funny way turning the end of the year into a blur with the shallow promise of a fresh start on January first.

I encourage you to lead your life with your mind and not your mood. I encourage you to avoid the temptation of hibernation and courageously step into activation. Here is what I know, if you commit to this work, and this new mindset you will not only close out the year in a way that will make you proud, but you will also set a new standard of thinking and operation for yourself, that will enable you to cover more ground on that path that was divinely curated just for you!

With ALL the LOVE,
AG