My son (the youngest member in our family) started year 11 of High School this week. It is a very interesting thing to see when your kids start to gain maturity at new levels. Earlier in the year he said he wanted to complete his Duke of Ed Gold Award by backpacking the top 15 highest peaks in the Snowy Mountains of Australia. To help him achieve this goal we agreed to go with him and spent 4 days backpacking in the mountains. It was if he crossed a new threshold and reached a new level of maturity, something special to experience.
It started me thinking about Rites of Passage. Throughout time native people would have ceremonies to celebrate when someone moved from one phase of their life to the next. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to spend time with the Navajo people in Arizona and was reminded of how important it is in hearing about some of their customs and traditions that they still hold dear for their people. I think sometimes we get so busy in the modern world that we forget to reflect on our past and make time to plan for our life moving forward.
As we are at the start of a new year, what do you have planned for your Rites of Passage? Have you planned a chance to learn new skills or hacks to do things faster? Researched a new hobby or club to get involved in? Or scheduled a holiday with the important people in your life in the not too distant future?
Regardless of the specific activity you want to take or achieve by making it a goal and starting a Rite of Passage you will get yourself closer to it. Here are 3 things you can do to start your 2023 Rites of Passage:
Map Your 2023 Rites of Passage
- For Work. Start by identifying what activity you need to focus on this year to help you achieve the outcomes you want. Capture the 3-5 work achievements you want to accomplish and then identify the Critical Path that you need to take to reach these goals. Make sure that you identify a goal that will stretch you to the next level.
- Team Goals. If you are in a position of leadership with other people, identify what it is that you are going to do to empower, stretch and develop them. Share this with them and commit time and energy to making sure it happens. Ideally you would have a check in session with your people that allows them to get actively involved in identifying the goals or the activities that need to be taken to achieve these goals.
- You at Home. Be careful not to get sucked into the world of work and forget the things that are important to you at home. Schedule time to attend your children’s school activities—even during the day (everyone can get 1-2 hours off of work—just plan ahead). Identify the touch-points and time that you are going to spend with your partner or significant others to make sure that work does not consume all of your time.
When people take action they create their Rite of Passage and can achieve great things throughout the year. Don’t just think about it, commit to it by writing it down and focusing on it throughout the year. The people that achieve great things are not just lucky, they’ve just stayed focused on what they really wanted!
