Cutting off that which doesn't count

I’m a couple of months away from a milestone birthday. As it’s been coming into view, I’ve been thinking about my next decade: what I want it to look like, the direction I want to take, what inspires me (and will continue to inspire me), and what I want to give my time to. This, I have discovered, is what is called a landmark occasion.

In an article called, The Fresh Start Effect, the authors note:

We propose that these landmarks demarcate the passage of time, creating many new mental accounting periods each year, which relegate past imperfections to a previous period, induce people to take a big-picture view of their lives, and thus motivate aspirational behaviors.¹

Landmarks, such as the one we have just experienced—the beginning of a new year—or the start of a new week or month, an anniversary, a relocation, a career start, and many more, can all be used to start afresh and used as an opportunity to gain a larger view moving forward.

In light of this looking forward, it’s also important to ask: What am I spending my time on, and which activities am I currently engaged in that won’t contribute to my ideal future?

Essentially, what needs to be cut off?

Like my rose bush (shown above), the spent flowers are taking energy from those currently flowering and, in the context of the future, the new growth is going to be negatively impacted if they are not removed.

Some of the life flowers that have been with us over time served their original purpose well, but now…they’re spent. Identifying and cutting them off is part of moving forward into our future with greater intent. It means our energy becomes more focused and directed toward that which counts.

And happy new year to you. May the coming days be those of fresh insights and abundant new growth.

Ray

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1. Dai, Milkman, and Riis: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior Management Science, Articles in Advance, pp. 1–20, © 2014 INFORMS