I love the New Year. Plain and simple, I love the feeling of fresh starts. I clean out closets, make plans and do all the things most people joke about what's wrong with the New Year. But I get a lot of joy and energy from having a stop and start point.
That doesn't mean I follow through on every resolution or that I am a beacon of organization. Rather, it helps me stay focused and anchored. I think being anchored is an underdiscussed and underappreciated capability.
As someone who craves variety, I can tell you, the way I live life is pretty distracting and naturally pulls me into several directions. I know the science says you can't really multi-task. I know that this is often a recipe for doing a lot of things at a so-so level. BUT I also know that I've been blending and mixing and dabbling my whole life. And at this point, I ain't stopping anytime soon.
So how does an avid dabbler and variety lover get anything done? I anchor, organize into buckets and create bulwarks. (I was trying to come up with a clever way to connect these three items in a metaphore but failed. I just love the words and the concepts so I'm going to keep running with these. Stay with me, please :-)
ANCHORING
"When my stress and anxiety overwhelm me, I'm reminded to get anchored."
Even if you're not like me and worse if you are, the world is coming at us fast and furious. Media is pouring in from all directions and changes are happening from all angles at lightning speed. It's easy to feel lost and scattered. So I anchor. I reconnect with who I am and who I plan to be in all of this chaos.
I know that's a bit on the esoteric side and not always seen as practical or tactical. I'm okay with that. In a world of ambiguity, I believe you have to be able to connect to your center. I first came across this while serving in the military.
It was an interesting experience. I grew up in a small town and was used to being aware of pretty much everyone's back story, even complete strangers. Now I was surrounded by strangers from across the country and had no idea who anyone really was. We were also going through an identity deconstruction as part of bootcamp. We wore uniforms and were permitted little self expression like make up or unique hair.
A few months in, I started to catch on that some of my peers were making up whole new background stories that didn't seem to be grounded in any their reality. One was a prom queen but the next day we'd hear how she was home schooled all through high school. Another came from a wealthy family and then the following week they'd tap out on paying the bar tab because they sent all of their money to their parents. But who could say which story was true? There was no one to say otherwise.
Without my normal identifiers - family, childhood landmarks, traditions or even my appearance, I found myself struggling to connect with who I was as an individual. After a few months, I was done with training restrictions. I started to go to the gym. I'd listen to my music and zone into me for two to three hours a day. It was my form of meditation I guess. But I credit it with reminding me of who I was.
Today, many years later, when my stress and anxiety overwhelm me, I'm reminded to get anchored. I don't spend the hours in the gym, but music and some form of communing with myself usually do the trick. It could be walks in nature, puzzles or going alone to the movies. Whatever it is, I'm calmed and I get that I'm navigating this world from the inside out vs. scrambling to react to everything coming at me. I reconnect with my purpose. Then everything is filtered through that.
Being anchored in purpose is why I started this company, it's how I coach and it's what I try to help others carve out for themselves. It brings clarity to the chaos.
BUCKETING
I don't have a story for this one. It's simple really. Research has shown that grouping and chunking makes it easier for us to remember and digest. So I stand by the rule of three. I break my life into three buckets - Business / Well-Being / Community. I set goals for each and then I usually do two more levels of bucketing in each of those buckets. But my goals for the primary three buckets are my compass points that keep me focused all year.
In my article, "How to Set Goals that Actually Work," I go into further detail on this process. It's simple but can be difficult the first time you attempt to boil your whole life and all of its complexities into three simple buckets. Know that this isn't about ignoring the details but creating clear destinations for where you're driving your life.
CREATING BULWARKS
"Your brain operates more effectively, and you feel better, if you have hope when faced with adversity and uncertainty."
I love the word 'bulwark.' It feels badass to say before I even knew what it meant. If you are like me, you may not know exactly what it means when you read it. The simplest definition is it means to fortify with a wall or to provide protection.
I've recently realized just how important this is and how important it is to be intentional about building protections to go the distance of anything we set out to do. This includes building a community around you that can support you. That could be through increasing your knowledge, cheering you on or giving you candid feedback to help you grow. This can also include taking care of your health and well-being so you have the energy, confidence and stamina to d great things. There are many other ways to build your bulwarks. I find it to be unique to each person.
My third bulwark is hope. That may sound trite but I'll tie it to biology for you. According to the article, "What Is Hope and Why Do We Need It," by the Global Brain Health Institute, it's not just about staying optomistic. "Your brain operates more effectively, and you feel better, if you have hope when faced with adversity and uncertainty," according to the article.
My hope for everyone is to find your anchor in your purpose as you kick off 2026. Happy New Year!
With purpose and hope,
Heather MacArthur
Owner & Founder, On Purpose Learning Programs
