Live small.
It's the opposite of what we read, what we are told and how we are convinced we are supposed to live. Our culture is about prominence, dominance and fake-it-till-you-make it. There are many studies, TED talks and plenty of articles and blog content that challenge, teach and train on marketing and promoting your business, your expertise and your accomplishments. We are challenged to go for the next big title, a more powerful position, more money and influence. Promote yourself, put yourself out there. Be top-of-mind, market thyself, toot thy own horn, show the world who you are. Many are chasing fame, influence, and invitations to bigger and better conferences and platforms. And many are successful in their quest. Some of the how-to formulas deliver what is promised. But is it enough? Are we ever satisfied? Are we ever content? Or are we always chasing the next? Could this be the rat race we've been warned about?
Imagine for a minute a world where it is acceptable to live small. Imagine a world where you are actually satisfied to live in the day. Imagine not feeling the pressure of not doing enough or not winning quickly enough. Imagine a world where you aren't in pursuit of the magic formula but are content in giving each day your best and facing each moment with expectation and excellence. Consider this challenge to live small:
✔ Be intentional about relationships. You can't be everything to everyone. Spend time building real relationships with real people. Identify people who can pour into you and identify people you can pour into. Diminish the effort you spend on transactional networking and ocus instead on relationship building.
✔Share only what is true. Inviting others into your story is powerful. Share your testimony, your story, and your journey. You may not have millions or even thousands of followers, but know that you can and are having impact on others. Your social-media sharing can teach, mold and encourage. Be real and unscripted. Share the good but share the struggles as well. Journal your journey authentically.
✔ Rethink your metrics for success. If you could pause and outline what you ultimately hope to achieve in your life, what would it include? How would you craft your life story differently if you redefined what success look likes for you? Many of us have dreams of bigger and better, but to what end? I challenge us to consider that a life well-lived may be lived more quietly than what we first imagined.
✔ Focus on today. Each day has enough worries of its own. Plan for tomorrow but keep your head in today. Be willing to have an unexpected conversation or enjoy an unanticipated pause in the day. Relearn the joy of being in the moment.
One of my goals for 2024 is to live small. Will you join me?
-Mindy Muller, CFRE, President/CEO of CDP
#communitydevelopmentprofessionals #leadership #goals #newyearsresolution
