Coffee Talk#195: Find Your Top 3

It’s Tuesday! Grab your cup and let’s start chattin’.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I revived the “Coffee Talk Tuesday” live video series on the Facebook page! I filmed this just before the crazy storms from Hurricane Isaias came rolling through town. If you’re on the east coast, I hope you are ok! That storm was no joke.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that the topic of our chat was “Identifying Your Top 3 & Aligning Your Life to Match it.”

What does that mean? Here’s a question I posed – From the moment you wake up until the moment your head hits the pillow at night, what keeps you going? What are the top 3 things that get you excited, motivated, willing to greet the day.

This might help – think about the last time you were EXCITED to complete a task, go somewhere, do something. Where did that excitement come from?

Make a list of these instances and then reflect on what drove you to that feeling of excitement or accomplishment. The “why” behind that feeling is the answer to what motivates you.

You can also ask yourself questions and let your answers guide you to find what motivates you:

• What brings me joy?
• How do I like to spend my time?
• If money wasn’t an issue, what would I do?
• How would I like to make an impact?
• What gives me purpose or meaning to my day?

You have to do some self-examination and get honest about how you’ve gotten to where you are and how you will get to where you want to go next.

I loved the answers shared in our live conversation. What would be your top 3? For reference, here are mine:

1. Movement
2. Learning & Sharing Knowledge
3. Shared Adventure

I look forward to these three things every single day. These things give me purpose.

Next Step: Once you’ve identified your top three, it’s time to take a look at your day(s) and determine what fits and what does not fit.

Enter: difficult questions and conversations. Consider your day – are you hitting all three motivatorfs? Are there things that are adding STRESS to your day that are unnecessary?

Let’s talk about FEAR for a moment- I want to push it aside. If there is FEAR present in what motivates you – for example, motivated to go to work because you’re in fear of losing your job, acknowledge that. Let it sit for a moment. And then release it.

What happens if you identify something BIG in your life that doesn’t hit your top three, like your job? Acknowledge it, consider ways to make it fit your life. Have a tough conversation with yourself, with your supervisor, with your significant other. Try to examine additional tasks, possibilities, perspectives. If it truly doesn’t fit, make a pact with yourself to start an exit plan.

Trust your gut on this one, it will lead you through this process. Let’s keep this conversation going!