Resist the January Rush

Two Slow and Steady Ways to Clarify Your Focus

As we step into a new year, there’s an inevitable pull toward goals, resolutions, and new habits. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, nature knows it’s winter - a season primed for stillness and drawing energy inward. Spring’s upward energy and growth won’t surface until the spring equinox (March 20th). So yes, we can push hard to make things happen in January, but much like planting seeds in the dead of winter, it’s unlikely they’ll grow unless you live below the equator. Once spring has sprung, we’ll get a natural boost of energy to move forward.

Research indicates that self-aware leaders are more confident and creative, make better decisions, and are ultimately more effective. Since self-reflection builds the muscle of self-awareness, it’s worth the investment of time, particularly now.

Rather than join the new-year rush, I urge you to align yourself with winter’s energy and bask in the season of stillness for as long as you possibly can, using the time carefully to cultivate clarity before taking action.

What matters most to you in your life right now?

What are the key principles or organizing factors that determine how your time, energy, and leadership should be organized in the year ahead?

If you don’t have a fully baked answer to the central question above, here are two simple practices that have made the greatest difference for leaders I’ve worked with. You can do one or both.

Practice 1: Clarify Your Core Values (30 minutes)

Step 1: Block out 30 uninterrupted minutes.
No multitasking. No optimizing. Just reflection.

Step 2: Review the list of values here: https://www.accessalignment.com/values
Print and circle or visually scan and select your top 10 values.

Step 3: Narrow those 10 down to 5.

Step 4: This might be the hardest part… reduce your list to just 3.
This final step matters because when everything is important, nothing is prioritized.

Extra credit: Call a friend, partner, or family member and share your top 3 values. Ask them:
“Does this reflect how you see me living or leading?”

As an example, when an SVP of Product for a Fortune 500 tech company called his wife and shared his top 3, his wife encouraged him to choose “excellence” instead of “family.” She cited multiple examples of how excellence showed up in his life. It’s not that family didn’t matter to him; of course, it did. But excellence was the value that motivated him and drove many of his decisions. Sometimes others can see our alignment or misalignment more clearly than we can. Are your values aligned with your actions, as evidenced by those who know you well?

The first time I did this exercise, I struggled to narrow mine down and find the words that really fit. I lumped achievement, hard work, and strength into one word: growth. After a few years, when I did this exercise again, spiritual growth had emerged and outweighed these, and I dropped “growth” and chose “wisdom.” You might need to acknowledge your younger self’s values to clarify your present self’s. Values can change depending on your circumstances and life experience.

Remember, this exercise is for you. Do what you need to do to make it work for you. And while you’re at it, check to observe how your body feels about your top 3. Energized? Lighter? Or more relaxed or settled? For me, there’s a sense my energy is gathered and full, not scattered. No right answers here, just a little nudge to notice and include all your intelligence.

A funny thing happened when I did this second practice below. In addition to helping me get out of my head and into my heart and body, it also unearthed another value I hadn’t realized was missing from my list.

Practice 2: A Visual Approach to Determine Your Values (20 minutes)

If you’re more visually oriented, this practice often reveals patterns that thinking alone can’t.

Step 1: Block out 20 minutes. Put on your favorite artist or playlist.

Step 2: Scroll through last year’s photos - the moments you naturally captured. Notice any similarities.

Step 3: Write down the themes that emerge.

Family?
Connection / Friendship?
Beauty?
Outdoors?
Community?
Fitness?
Achievement?
Impact?

Our images can tell us what we’re drawn to and what we want more of before we articulate it in words.

If you follow me on LinkedIn, you may have already completed this exercise. However, if you choose to do it again, see if you notice any different moments you’ve captured. What might this tell you?

When I scanned through the prior year’s photos, it was almost comical how many of them were quiet moments in nature that felt sacred or magical to me. It became abundantly clear that nature (specifically: beauty found in nature) is essential for me. It’s like oxygen that fuels me and affords the wisdom, grace, and clarity that I need to be fully operational as a human.

Once I discovered this, nature became an organizing force. It’s primarily responsible for investing time in Japan, a culture that also values the beauty of nature. I also organize my work week to optimize for walks in nature. Over the years, I’ve noticed that these walks are typically where I get my most significant insights and clarity for big decisions. Many of my clients have reported something similar - a solo walk, sometimes up high on a hilltop (or on an airplane) or a brisk walk and talk with a trusted person that sparks insight. Paying attention to the conditions and connecting those dots is key.

As you complete one or both practices, find a pen and blank page and ask yourself:
“What matters most to you now?” and “What do you want this year to be organized around?”

There’s no need to make changes yet; just note ideas and anything that comes to mind.

Aligning actions with your values isn’t just feel-good advice; research tells us it leads to higher well-being and a stronger sense of purpose. People who pursue goals aligned with their core values are more likely to experience flow, resilience, and satisfaction in life.

In our next newsletter, we’ll explore what to do with what you discover. We’ll look at how awareness becomes alignment, and alignment becomes action.

If you’d like a few additional year-end reflection questions to fuel your inner reflection time, you can find more in this post.

Here’s to accessing greater alignment in the coming year.