6 Principles to Do What Matters Most
In modern life, we’re faced with endless distractions and chaos, from the news to social media to the torrent of advertising that floods our digital world every day.
It can become so easy to lose sight of what truly matters to us — the soul-deep desires we’re here to fulfill. We can feel the impulse to jump on every trend or throw our energy (mental, spiritual, emotional, and even physical) into every “problem” that appears on the landscape of our lives.
And yet there’s always a path available to us that’s guided by purpose and clarity, rather than reactivity and impulse.
So if you’ve been feeling like you’re pulled in a million different directions — the following 6 principles can act, quite literally, as a roadmap to reorienting yourself onto that path of purpose and clarity.
These aren’t just strategies — they’re a way of being that helps you align your actions with your deepest values, so you can navigate complexity while staying true to your deeper intentions for your life.
1. Be Here Now
The place to start doing what matters is HERE. NOW. There really is no other time or place.
Find a way (there are countless strategies) to ground yourself in the present moment, where your true power lies.
Life happens in the now, so the key to being part of life is to fully inhabit your life — now.
Whether you’re focusing on a project or simply breathing in the moment, allow your awareness to settle into the here and now. This is where you connect most deeply with yourself (what I call your Essential Self) and your work, and where meaningful action begins.
2. Embrace What Is
I’m a huge proponent of radically embracing “what is.” Otherwise known as “acceptance” or, as I’ve termed it, a Passion for Reality.
Stoic philosophy is based on this principle. Byron Katie’s transformative “Work” is based on this principle. And unfortunately, it’s often misunderstood as encouragement to give up on your dreams or just collapse into defeat.
Acceptance is anything but that, though!
True acceptance isn’t about passivity — it’s about making space for the full spectrum of your experience.
The doubts, the fears, the hopes… they all have a place in your heart. By welcoming these experiences rather than resisting them, you open yourself up to transformative growth.
Acceptance, as humble as the concept may seem, is the first step toward intentional, value-driven action in your life and business.
3. Witness Your Thoughts
Your mind is a brilliant creator of stories, but those stories don’t always serve you.
Your mind is also a helpful categorizer and creator of “rules” which, of course, make life easier. Without certain rules, you’d have to relearn everything you know about living, every single day.
The problem arises when those rules interfere with the deeper values driving your Essential Self.
(Hint: the “rules” are almost always about safety and staying alive, and the Essential Self is all about coming up against your growth edge — and to be suuuper honest, if there’s one thing you should “give up” it’s the belief that that will ever change.)
Now, by learning to observe your thoughts without getting swept away, you can choose which narratives guide your actions. One simple way to hold your thoughts lightly is to see them as passing clouds rather than absolute, fixed structures.
Although clouds can obscure the sun, they are never permanent and they cannot affect the sun. Your thoughts cannot affect your Essential Self. They are like passing vapors. This practice allows you to stay aligned with your values, no matter what arises.
4. Tune Into Your Inner Observer
There’s a wise, calm part of you that’s always present, always observing. It serves your inner compass, guiding you through the noise of daily life. This, again, is what I call the Essential Self. (In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, this component is known as “self-as-context.”)
It doesn’t matter what you call it; it only matters that you notice it. When I come home to my Essential Self by practicing awareness and disentangling myself from those thoughts and emotions that act like they’re me… it’s like coming home to the best friend you could ever hope for.
This is the friend that is 100% in your corner. The one who always has the answers. The one who would never give up on you, judge you, talk behind your back, or hold resentment toward you secretly.
If you’ve never had a friend like that in the outer world (and they are rare), understand that you do have a friend like that in your inner world. It is always present, ready to helpfully engage with you.
By connecting with this part of yourself, you gain perspective and clarity. It’s from this space that you can respond to life’s challenges with grace and authenticity, staying true to who you are and what matters most.
5. Clarify Your Core Values
Your values are the heartbeat of your business and your life. They’re the guiding principles that keep you aligned with your true purpose, even when the path gets rocky.
Here’s what took me a long time to understand about values, although I used them as “feel good” exercises and “clear the cobwebs” kind of coaching practices: I never really understood that they were not:
Words to put on a list, that I would then use to direct my daily actions
Words to be included in my company’s mission statement, as a branding exercise
Words, period
Nope, values are (I love this definition from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy!) like the direction you are traveling vs. the destination you are headed toward. If you want to go from California to New York, you’ll travel east. That’s the value — east. The destination — New York — is the goal. But if you travel in a different direction, you will have a really hard time reaching your goal.
Values are also not things like, “excellence” and “kindness” and “integrity.” Those are qualities by which you live out your values.
A value is a driving force in your life. I would best describe it by saying, “Choose what is most important to you in life.” If you had to answer that question, would it really be “excellence?”
I might say that doing my work with excellence is a quality I hold dear — but if you asked me what matters most, I’d say something more like, “To be able to inspire and help people overcome their limitations, transform their lives, and do what matters most.”
(Very meta, I know! One of my core values is to help people live their values.)
Try it now. Grab pen and paper, and take some time to identify what truly matters to you—how you want to show up in the world, in your relationships, and in your work. What would you do if life were completely up to you? If no one else had any say? (Not your family, not your colleagues, not your clients.)
What would you create? How would you contribute? What is in your heart to do?
These values are your north star, guiding every decision you make.
6. Take Purposeful Action
Knowing what matters is only the beginning. The next step (and seemingly the most terrifying, especially for those of us who have spent a lot of time in our heads) is to take action in ways that reflect your deepest values.
In the business world, there’s an overemphasis on taking BOLD action — and I’m not at all against that. I agree, taking bold action is necessary to create and nurture a business that goes beyond the ordinary. You’ve gotta live outside your comfort zone.
However… it’s important to understand that taking action in line with your values isn’t necessarily about big, bold moves. It’s about the most minute details of life, from the way you interact with someone at the grocery store, to the way you write a blog post like the one you’re reading right now, to the way you craft your to-do list each week.
If I understand that one of my deepest values is to help facilitate transformation in people’s lives (including my own), for example, then when I’m faced with the blank page and a “write xyz blog post” task… this is my time to live out that value.
What does that mean? I can either struggle and grasp and claw my way through the task (if I’m feeling a lot of resistance — as many of us do when faced with any kind of creative work), or I can use all of these principles that I know are life-transforming. I know they are the gateway to my joy and purpose and meaning — so I can use them in everything I do.
This has been referred to as “going pro” in entrepreneurial circles, and I think the meaning of that phrase has been lost because it is regarded as a life hack for those who encourage “hustle culture.”
Quite simply, though, it’s choosing to act according to your values, even when it feels hard. (I would argue, especially when it feels hard.) All of the richest lessons are embedded in this.
In other words, engaging with your life and the world is where it’s at, baby.
You can do all the meditating you want, and attempt to “feel” yourself into doing the tasks and projects that feel most daunting or dreadful, but simply acting on what you value most is transformative in itself.
When you commit to purposeful action on a regular basis, you’ll create a life and business that are not only beautifully successful but also deeply fulfilling.
So, whether you’re setting goals, refining your offerings, or simply showing up each day with intention, I hope you’ll use the above principles in whatever way they work best for you, to truly do what matters most.
Running a transformational service-based business is different than any other business out there. Your clients have to bring their own commitment to the process — so marketing hits different for them. The decision-making process requires you do the opposite of almost everything you may have learned. And your own mindset, energy, and heart need to be aligned for your work to work.I’m Helen Hunter Mackenzie, positioning expert and business strategist for impact-driven entrepreneurs working in the transformational field. I’ll help you differentiate your work, create strong messaging to articulate that difference, and streamline your marketing & revenue strategy so can focus only on attracting high-quality clients and building $10K+ months (and beyond).Book a complimentary 6-Figure Strategy Session with me, where together we'll uncover the simplest, most high-leverage shifts you can make right now to start building 6-figure success with more ease and a whole lot less overwhelm. Schedule your complimentary (no-obligation) 30-minute session today! 📆