alignment – Page 2 – Ruthann M. Wilson

First Things First: Mastering Your Priorities for a Fulfilled Life

Priorities

“Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

First things first is a phrase that basically means things that are truly important should be prioritized over less important things. What are less important things? Whatever you decide based on the type of life that you want to live.

First things first is something we all know, but many of us struggle to put into practice on a regular basis. There is often a gap between what we say is important and what we actually do. Over time, the gap can contribute to feelings of being inadequate, inauthentic, off track, etc.

Becoming aware of where we have gaps is the first step to creating better alignment between actions and priorities. If you are experiencing a gap between what you say is important and what you actually do on a day-to-day basis, take a step back and explore the gap. Use what you learn to make changes/adjustments to your personal and/or professional life.

Here’s an activity, best accomplished in writing, to get you started:

Create a list of 3-5 things that are important to you. Be specific as possible. Put them in order.
Reflect on the past three months and record the order in which these things have been a priority in your life.
Is the first thing on your list, first in your life? If not, why not?
Do the things on your list reflect what you (vs. someone else) want for your life?
Identify steps you can take to align your actions with the order of the priorities on your list.
Ask someone you trust to lovingly hold you accountable.
Take action

Priority setting is an effective tool to create focus in your life. It will help you stay true to what matters most in your life.

Feel free to share this post via a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

As Within, So Without: Understand Your Reality

Listen closely Are you familiar with the phrase “as within, so without”? It means your external reality (i.e., physical reality that you see) is a manifestation of your inner reality (i.e., thoughts, beliefs, and emotions).

Your inner reality affects how you live your life each day. Many of us are operating on auto pilot, not fully paying attention to how our inner reality is shaping our lives day to day. If your external reality is not what you desire, take a step back and listen to your life to help you make changes from the inside out.

Questions for reflection (best accomplished in writing):

If my life reflects my inner reality, what is my life telling me right now?
- You can make this question specific to an area of your life that you would like to improve (e.g., if my finances reflect my inner reality, what are my finances telling me about my thoughts/beliefs about money right now?)
What seeds (thoughts/beliefs) have been planted in my mind? Are they seeds of faith or seeds of doubt?
What thoughts/beliefs do I need to replace to create the life that I desire? Affirmations are an effective way to replace disempowering thoughts/beliefs with empowering thoughts/beliefs.

Get clear and take action:

Get clear as to what you would like to change, why you would like to make a change, how and when you plan to make it happen.
Take consistent action and trust the process.

All change in the physical world begins with a change in your mind. Take time to listen to your life. It can help you make changes from the inside out.

Feel free to share this post with other via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Weekly Reflection for Personal Growth

Reflection is a powerful way to learn, grow, and keep moving forward. Taking time over the weekend to look back and look forward to the week ahead will help you keep your life in progress and your goals on track. Small changes on a weekly basis can have a tremendous effect on your life.

Make a commitment to spend 15-20 minutes over the weekend (Saturday or Sunday) to first, look back and then, look forward. I have outlined a few questions, best answered in writing, to help get you started.

Look back

What did I accomplish?
What didn’t I accomplish that I wanted to? Why?
What did I learn?
How did I grow?
What’s working/going well?
What’s not working/not going well? What can I do to shift or neutralize what’s not working?
Who or what was my greatest blessing?
How was I a blessing to others?

Look forward

What are my top priorities for the week ahead? Why are these priorities?
Based on my review of last week, what might I do differently in the coming week?

Use the power of reflection on a weekly basis to help you learn, grow, and keep moving forward.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you know someone who might benefit from reading it, please share by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Why Clarifying Your Values Matters

why

The next time you find yourself looking for a reason why you haven’t started, completed, or followed through on something, take a step back and ask yourself if it is really important to you. If the answer is yes, spend some time exploring why it is important. When you ask yourself why something is important, you are tapping into your personal values.

Your values are always at work in your life whether you are fully aware of them or not. Clarifying them and using them as a guide can change your life. If you haven’t taken the time to clarify your values/what is most important to you in writing, I encourage you to make it a priority. Life flows when you are clear on your values.

We are likely to struggle to keep commitments when they are not clearly connected to personal values. When this happens, commitments tend to be rooted in fear and obligation rather than rooted in your heart.

Today is a great day to evaluate your commitments to ensure they are in alignment with your values. If not, give yourself permission to make changes or let them go.

Clarify what is most important to you and why. It will help you manifest what you desire.

Clarifying your values ensures that your career choices are authentic and sustainable, guiding decisions about roles, promotions, and leadership.

Need support? Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path is designed to help you clarify what is most important to you and bring it to life. Click here to learn more about Be True to You.

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Release the Past: Reflection Practices for Healing and Moving Forward

Past Future

I can think of a time in my life when my primary focus was on past mistakes, missed opportunities, and the wrong doing of others. It was a dead end focus that kept me anchored in the past, silently suffering in the present, and not truly moving forward.

Through an ongoing process of forgiveness, I learned to release the past, resentment, and anger that I felt toward myself and others. Instead of looking back on challenging or painful situations with resentment and regret, I began to look back and ask what I learned about myself (first and foremost) and others and how the ‘lessons learned’ could help me grow. This was an ongoing process that helped me get unstuck and move forward.

The first step to release the past is to decide to release the past. There is great power in deciding to let it go. There is even more power in writing your decision down.

Once you have affirmed your decision to release the past in writing, sit with your decision in silence and allow your wise self that awaits you in silence to guide your steps forward. You have the power to release the past so that you can begin to truly moving forward.

Questions for reflection:

What in my past is keeping me from enjoying the present?
What in my past is keeping me from proactively creating my future?
What steps can I take to release the past so that I can truly move forward?

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Create a New Chapter in Your Life

“And suddenly you just know…it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.”

—Meister Eckhart

A new beginning provides us with the opportunity to create a new chapter in our lives. To get the most out of your fresh start, spend some time reflecting on what is complete and ready to be released, and what you are inspired to begin. Here are a few questions for reflection:

What did I accomplish recently?
What didn’t I accomplish that I really wanted to? Why?
Who or what was my greatest blessing? Why?
What is complete in my life and ready to be released so that I can begin a new chapter?
What am I inspired to begin now?

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You are welcome to follow the blog to receive new reflections, subscribe to the mailing list for updates in your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,
Ruthann

Time Management Strategies: How to Make the Most of Your Time

Time

Time is one of your most valuable resources and it is inextricably linked to your life. The way you spend your time is the way you spend your life. Spend it wisely. 🙂

Here are a few strategies that can help you make the most of your time:

Know your purpose/mission and let it be your guide.
Set clear, purpose-driven goals.
Plan and prioritize tasks related to your goals.
Create a schedule (daily/weekly/monthly) and stick to it.
Focus on results/getting things done; not on being busy.
Be willing to say no to people and activities that are not aligned with your values, vision, and goals.

The key to making the most of your time is to stay laser focused on what matters most in your life.

Strong time management isn’t just about life balance; it’s also a cornerstone of career success. When you align your time with your mission and goals, you create clarity and focus that carry into your work and professional growth.

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Mid-Year: Review, Reflect, Keep Moving Forward

Forward

It’s hard to believe that we are halfway through the year. It’s a good time to pause and reflect on the first half of the year to see where you are versus where you hoped to be this time of the year. Make an effort to look back at the first half of the year without getting stuck in feelings of guilt or regret if you are off track. The goal of a mid-year evaluation is to review, reflect, correct, and move forward.

If you work in a business setting, you are more than likely used to a mid-year assessment related to your role/position. It is also a good practice for other areas of your life. Here are a few questions for you to consider:

What have I accomplished year to date?
- Consider all of your life areas (e.g., career, finances, health & fitness, etc.)
- Celebrate your accomplishments no matter how big or small.
What didn’t I accomplish that I really wanted to? Why?
Who or what has been my greatest blessing? Why?
What did I learn?
How did I grow?
What am I really committed to?

The last question is important to crystalize as a part of your mid-year evaluation. It will help you to see where you need to make adjustments to your current plan or change course and create a new plan of action.

For your reference, I have provided links to previous posts that are related to this topic.

Be Intentional (includes a downloadable worksheet)

Focus on what truly matters

SMART Goals: Bring Your Desires to Life

Create a Vision Board

Create a Theme for the Year

Keep moving forward! 🙂

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Strategies to Stay Focused on What Matters

What we choose to focus on magnifies in our lives. Here are a few strategies that can help you stay focused on what truly matters and create the life that you desire.

Capture what is most important to you in writing

Putting things on paper can help you focus, plan, organize, and bring your ideas to life. Make a commitment to write down what matters most to you.

Clarify your personal values

Values are qualities/principles that are most important to you. Your values are the foundation for your life. They inform your life choices and help you prioritize what is most important in your life. Take time to identify, clarify, and prioritize your values in writing and put them into action.

Create a vision for your life

A vision is a desired future state. Give yourself permission to dream big. Create a detailed vision of what you desire for your life and create a plan of action to bring it to life. You may find my post on vision boards helpful. Click here to read the vision board post.

Create awareness of how you are spending your time, energy, and money

Keep track of how you are spending your time, energy, and money (in writing) on a daily basis for the next seven days. It will help you see the degree to which you are (or aren’t) focused on what truly matters. This exercise is seriously eye opening!

Need support? Be True to You is designed to help you clarify what truly matters and create the life that you desire.

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

SMART Goals: Bring Your Desires to Life

This post was inspired by a mini-workshop that I recently conducted on creating goals, in particular, SMART* goals. The acronym SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound.

Setting goals is a way to bring your desires to life. Goals enable you to go from hoping and wishing to manifesting what you truly desire.

If you work in a business setting, you are more than likely used to setting and achieving goals related to your role/position. However, most people don’t have personal goals (e.g., career, relationship, financial, etc.) that are specific and written down. It is estimated that only 3% of people have written goals.

Time is one of your most precious resources. The SMART approach is a great way to create written goals and structure your time.

Questions to consider as you create each goal:

Specific: What exactly will you accomplish?
Measurable: How will you know when you have reached your goal?
Attainable: Is your goal challenging, yet attainable?
Relevant: Is your goal clearly linked to your values/what matters most?
Time-bound: By what date will you accomplish your goal?

If there is something that you are hoping/wishing to accomplish “someday”, make today the day you give it a deadline, create a plan, and put your plan into action.

Consider using images and/or symbols as visual reminders of your desired outcome (click here to see my post on vision boards).

Work toward your goals, but don’t be attached to a particular outcome. Being attached to a specific outcome can get in the way of you receiving an even bigger blessing than the one you had in mind.

SMART goals aren’t just a personal practice — they’re also a cornerstone of career success. When you set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time‑bound goals, you create clarity and focus that drive both professional achievement and personal fulfillment.

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button.

All the best,
Ruthann

*SMART concept created by George Doran