Do you design your year ahead with intention?
Well, it’s officially 2017 as of yesterday and I’m still trying to figure out where 2015 went.
Last year was a doozy for me and I’m SUPER excited about this year! When I reflected on what my word would have been for 2016, it would have been “expectations.” Because fuck did I have a lot of them, and they sure kicked my ass right back to Sunday.
If you’re new to me and my blog, Let me update you. I have a new(ish) baby, and have been working on balancing being the primary caregiver and running my business.
Well, it ended up that I couldn’t do both very well with full attention. So I have been spending less time on here and more time with my cute, adorable, sweet, funny, and now walking (how did that happen????) little baby.
This year, I will have more time to devote to YOU (hooray!), and I couldn’t be more stoked!
I missed you and have been planning like mad of how we are going to spend more time together. Then it occurred to me that you might be interested in how I plan my year ahead.
Like you, I get excited about fresh starts so New Year is one of my favourite times of year. I take stock, revisit the past year, and set my sites on shaping the year ahead through intention.
Also, I don’t do resolutions, but I do something else that I’d love to share with you.
It’s a super simple 3 question year in review with a little strategy sprinkled on top. It’s a beautiful way to move into a fresh year with intention.
1)What worked?
First of all, list all your achievements (no matter how small, it all counts). What made you proud, your wins, and what made you feel happiest and most satisfied.
We can often get focused on fixing things that aren’t working, and this is a great way to shift that mindset. We can only build upon our successes. Choosing to acknowledge and celebrate them gives us a solid base to expand upon.
2) What didn’t work?
List all the things that held you back, sucked, and left you feeling unfulfilled.
To move past the things that didn’t work, we need to first see them through a compassionate lens. Ask yourself: what lessons can I leverage moving forward? We can’t change what we don’t see. Looking back gives us freedom from continuing patterns that aren’t working for us so we can create new ones that do.
3) What can I do differently next time? What am I willing to let go of?
Finally, now that you have your achievements to build on and you are aware of what was holding you back, you can choose how you are going to move forward. What strategies do you need to consider? Most importantly, what do you need to let go of to move forward? Are there some embarrassments, failure, stories that need to be flushed down the 2016 toilet? Is it time to start building a new habit? What small steps can you take that will give you the biggest results?
Well, that’s it. My quick and dirty 3 questions to start your year off right.
Now I’d love to hear from you: what were your proudest moments of 2016? What was your biggest a-ha for what didn’t work? (Mine was that I didn’t make enough time for friends. Totally changing that this year!) What is the teeny tiniest little thing you can do to start moving towards what you want? Please feel free to share it in the comments below.
I hope you continue to feel the joy of hope and possibility throughout the year. I hope that it is filled with loving connections, meaningful moments, and the most delicious eats with people who fill you up!
Once you do the exercise, I’d love to hear your answers in the comments below.