Centering your goals, between planning and mental well-being

Interview with Giusi Valentini, digital coach and entrepreneur.

We’ve all been there: after devoting the first few days of a new year to precisely defining a set of good resolutions, we sooner or later came up against the fact that we would not be able to pursue them. But why does this happen to us? We asked Giusi Valentini, the first guest on Phyd’s 2023 events calendar. A coach, journalist, and mindfulness expert, Giusi has long offered content and activities designed to help people (re)find the right relationship with themselves.

Giusi, why is it that at the beginning of the year we try so hard by giving ourselves goals and objectives and then, often after a few months, we dissipate all this healthy enthusiasm?

Often this happens because we give ourselves too many goals, to be achieved simultaneously. And because we reflect a little too little on the subject of planning.

Can you elaborate on that?

We should give ourselves a single goal, and define precisely how we can achieve it, perhaps turning it into a daily routine. Once this satisfaction is metabolized, we can move on to a second goal. Always remembering, however, to plan the actions to undertake it.

Would you give us a concrete example?

My suggestion to everyone is to stop, take pen and paper and write down how, step by step, we intend to get where we want to go. For example, let’s assume that I want to change jobs: what job do I want to do? Is my cv up to date? Is my LinkedIn profile consistent and effective? Do I have contacts in my network who can help me? Asking many questions is essential; the answers will help us map out a real plan of action.

In all this, what is the role of mental health and well-being?

It is decisive: it all starts from there. If we are not well, in the deepest and truest sense of the word, we can hardly change our lives as we wish.

During 2022 there was a lot of talk about mental well-being. What do you think? In your opinion is this a “fad” or is it instead a building block toward a new collective awareness?

I really hope that this is a structural and cultural change. For too long, talking about our psychological well-being has been taboo. I dream of a world in which seeing someone sitting on a bench with eyes closed engaged in meditation no longer arouses any surprise or curiosity. And the same I hope may soon be true for yoga or tai-chi. I trust that we are on the right track.

Interestingly, younger generations are also developing a sensitivity to this issue.

Gen Z is overwhelmed by stimuli and input from social, and it is not easy to find a balance. They live in a season of existence that pushes them to do everything but without perhaps knowing precisely who they really want to be. This is a very sensitive issue.

What suggestions do you feel like making?

First, I suggest some digital detox. But not so much understood as drastic disconnection from the digital universe. Rather, I suggest that everyone choose carefully which profiles to follow, to question which people really inspire us and help us feel better. Also, I invite everyone to say “enough” to the comparison with others. Each of us unique and unrepeatable. Let us live our lives to the fullest, aware of our uniqueness, which makes all of us absolutely special!

To review the “New year planning tips & meditation” event with Giusi Valentini, click
here
.