Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, Welcome back to another episode of Let's Talk
Speaker 1: the Things, where we discuss personal growth, travel, music, beauty,
Speaker 1: and wellness while encouraging you to live fearlessly and fabulously.
Speaker 1: I'm ash, and if you're like most people, you probably
Speaker 1: have a list a mile long of goals you'd like
Speaker 1: to achieve this year. Right, New year, new goals, new mes,
Speaker 1: and all of that good stuff. But what if I
Speaker 1: told you that making the most of this year is
Speaker 1: not necessarily about doing more, but about becoming more aligned. Now.
Speaker 1: I know that alignment is sort of a buzzword these days,
Speaker 1: but I truly believe it is the key to making
Speaker 1: this year your best year yet. In this episode, we
Speaker 1: are talking to Things about what alignment really means, why
Speaker 1: it's so important, and how it could completely change the
Speaker 1: way you show up in life. So grab your tea, coffee,
Speaker 1: or a glass of wine and let's talk things. What
Speaker 1: does alignment even mean? Alignment is simply about being in
Speaker 1: tune with yourself, your values, your goals, and your deeper
Speaker 1: sense of purpose. It's about living in harmony with the
Speaker 1: things that matter to you the most, not just following
Speaker 1: a checklist of tasks that you have to complete think
Speaker 1: about it. When you're aligned, you wake up every day
Speaker 1: feeling energized and focused, knowing that what you're going to
Speaker 1: do or what you're doing is connected to who you
Speaker 1: are and where you want to go. And here's the thing.
Speaker 1: Alignment is not just about perfection, it's about progress. When
Speaker 1: you're aligned, you're moving in the direction that feels right
Speaker 1: for you, not what others expect or what society tells
Speaker 1: you to do, but what is right and what feels
Speaker 1: good to you. So take a second right now and
Speaker 1: ask yourself, are the actions I'm taking right now truly
Speaker 1: aligned with what I want from life? Or am I
Speaker 1: just checking off boxes or living for someone else. We've
Speaker 1: all been there, stuck in a cycle of doing more.
Speaker 1: We're told that in order to succeed, we need to
Speaker 1: hustle hard and work longer hours and consistently push ourselves.
Speaker 1: But can I tell you a little secret, It's not
Speaker 1: always true. More is not always better. You see, you
Speaker 1: can work harder than anyone, but if you're not aligned
Speaker 1: with the things that matter to you, it's like you're
Speaker 1: running in place. You're putting in effort but not getting anywhere,
Speaker 1: and then you end up burnt out and that sound safe.
Speaker 1: So what does it look like when you stop chasing
Speaker 1: more and start focusing on alignment? Well, it's about taking
Speaker 1: a step back and asking yourself, am I doing this
Speaker 1: because I have to? Or because it genuinely brings me
Speaker 1: closer to my goals. It's about setting intentional boundaries, saying
Speaker 1: no when you need to, and giving yourself permission to
Speaker 1: slow down when that is really what is required. Sometimes
Speaker 1: less is really more. It's not about filling your schedule
Speaker 1: with a million tasks and saying you're booked and busy,
Speaker 1: quote unquote. It's about aligning your actions with your values,
Speaker 1: your purpose, and really the bigger picture of what you
Speaker 1: desire your life to look like. Okay, you're probably wondering, well, Ash,
Speaker 1: all of that sounds great, but how do I get aligned? Well?
Speaker 1: Alignment starts with clarity. The clearer you are about your vision,
Speaker 1: the easier it is to make decisions that are in
Speaker 1: sync with that vision. So here's an exercise that I
Speaker 1: want you to do right now if you can, If not,
Speaker 1: be sure to come back and try it out a
Speaker 1: little bit later. If you can right now, grab a
Speaker 1: pen on paper or you know, use the notes app
Speaker 1: in your phone or whatever you have available to you,
Speaker 1: and yes, I'm serious, I will wait. Okay, Now write
Speaker 1: down your top three values. These are things that matter
Speaker 1: the most to you in life, so that could be family, integrity, creativity, health,
Speaker 1: and my personal favorite, freedom or whatever else matters most
Speaker 1: to you. Then write down your goals for this year.
Speaker 1: What do you want to accomplish by the end of
Speaker 1: the year, and be specific. Now look at your values
Speaker 1: and your goals. Are your goals aligned with your values?
Speaker 1: If not, that may be your starting point. Maybe you're
Speaker 1: working on things that aren't really true to who you are.
Speaker 1: Maybe you're chasing things and even people that aren't a
Speaker 1: part of your dream but a part of someone else's
Speaker 1: dream for you. You have goals that align with your values, great,
Speaker 1: that's wonderful, But remember your actions have to match your intentions,
Speaker 1: and I think a lot of times that's where we
Speaker 1: fall short, me included. You have intentions to do something,
Speaker 1: but your actions are just not necessarily aligning with that,
Speaker 1: and then you wonder why you're not achieving that goal.
Speaker 1: For example, you can't say you want a healthy lifestyle
Speaker 1: and you want a carnival body and all these things.
Speaker 1: You know carnival. Body is subjective, but you guys know
Speaker 1: what I mean. You want to be in great shape,
Speaker 1: whatever that means for you, but then you're eating excessive
Speaker 1: amounts of fast food every day. You can't say that
Speaker 1: you value friendship and family, but you never make time
Speaker 1: for them. And you cannot say that you value yourself
Speaker 1: but allow persons to remain in your life who have
Speaker 1: made it clear that they do not value you. It's
Speaker 1: about consistency, and the most important person that you can
Speaker 1: be consistent with is yourself. You are with yourself twenty
Speaker 1: four hours a day. You cannot leave yourself alone. You
Speaker 1: can leave your friends, you can leave your family, you
Speaker 1: can leave your colleagues, but you are with yourself twenty
Speaker 1: four to seven. So check in with yourself every day
Speaker 1: and ask yourself, are my actions moving me closer to
Speaker 1: what I truly want? The answers are the foundation of
Speaker 1: what will keep you aligned. We often think that to
Speaker 1: make real progress we need to take these giant leaps
Speaker 1: or giant steps in life, but in reality, the magic
Speaker 1: happens in those small shifts, those small changes that you
Speaker 1: make throughout your life or in this case, throughout the year.
Speaker 1: So maybe you take ten minutes every morning to meditate
Speaker 1: or to go for a walk, or you prioritize one
Speaker 1: thing that really matters over the five things that don't.
Speaker 1: It's not about doing everything. It's about doing the right
Speaker 1: things for you. And as I've mentioned in a previous episode,
Speaker 1: quoting Ian lavan'sant, filling your cup is not selfish, it
Speaker 1: is self full. For example, let's say you're someone who
Speaker 1: really values creativity, but you find yourself inundated with administrative
Speaker 1: tasks all day. Well, instead of becoming overwhelmed with everything
Speaker 1: you're supposed to do and feeling super pop down, why
Speaker 1: not start carving out maybe thirty minutes each morning to
Speaker 1: work on a creative project. You see, small shift, big impact.
Speaker 1: These shifts will add up over time and keep you
Speaker 1: aligned with your bigger goals. Remember, making the most of
Speaker 1: this year is not about doing more, it's about what
Speaker 1: all right? Being more aligned? Mm hmm. You guys don't
Speaker 1: think I can hear you. I can hear you know,
Speaker 1: And it starts with you, with clarity, with setting boundaries,
Speaker 1: with showing up for yourself and what matters to you
Speaker 1: the most this year, Give yourself permission to be less
Speaker 1: busy and more intentional, take a step back if you
Speaker 1: need to, and get clear on your values and take
Speaker 1: aligned action. You've got this. When you're aligned with who
Speaker 1: you truly are, everything else will fall into place. I
Speaker 1: can promise you that. Thanks again for tuning in this week,
Speaker 1: and don't forget to share this episode with someone who
Speaker 1: you thing may need to hear it or, in the
Speaker 1: words of Beyonce, get information. Also, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. What are you doing this year to stay
Speaker 1: aligned with your goals? Send a message on Let's Talk
Speaker 1: the Things Instagram page or if you're listening on Apple
Speaker 1: podcast or Spotify. Please remember to leave a comment and
Speaker 1: give us a five star rating.