Whew! 2020. Am I right? Yes, this has been one heck of a year. You don't need me to get into it. You were there, you know what happened. The first of the year is a time seen as an opportunity for new beginnings. It’s a nice clean day to hit the reset button.
But it's not just about resetting and it's not just about starting over. It’s about continuing what you've already started and moving forward. The first of the year can be just as great a time to examine this past year as it is to look toward the coming year.
Maybe you're saying “I don't want to examine this past year because it sucked”. I am well aware of the losses that so many people suffered this year. And, over the course of 366 days (remember, it was leap year), there were also times of joy, love, growth and learning.
I want to give you an opportunity to intentionally look back on this year and see what it brought to you, instead of only focusing on what it's taken from you.
We will also look at the coming year and what intentions you would like to set. The way the resolutions are often made is by stating on January 1st that you're going to do something all 365 days. That you're going to maintain the same behavior with no changes based on the person you are that day. This too seems like an impossibility to me.
I also noticed for myself, that I was asking for things that simply weren’t in my control. Four years in a row I asked for one year, one simple, tiny year, with nothing exciting happening. I had experienced some losses and stressors and was looking for a life that was less dramatic.
After a while I realized I was asking for something that the universe couldn’t provide me, and, in all reality, I didn’t want. In the year my sister died, I also made the decision to open my first business and my other sister married a great guy. 365 days is a lot of time for a lot of stuff to happen. Without those ups and downs we don’t grow.
That's why I like setting an intention for the year that I check in on at the Solstices and Equinoxes to see if they still apply to the person I am that day verses the person I was on January 1st. This helps to keep me focused and realistic so that I can be present in my life in a totally different way.
Here is your exercise for the transition of 2020 into 2021: Sit down with these questions and answer them in as much detail as you can. Allow yourself to remember the challenges and the triumphs. Then allow yourself to look into the coming year with hope.
Taking a deeper look at 2020
My 3 most memorable moments of the past year are:
The 3 nicest things I did for others were:
The 3 nicest things I did for myself were:
5 new things I tried this past year were:
The 3 most important things I learned are:
My 3 favorite ways to spend time this past year have been:
5 of the things I’m grateful for are:
Looking forward to 2021
3 things I want to improve upon this coming year are:
3 things I want to do more are:
3 things I want to do less of are:
My top 5 goals for 2021 are:
The first steps that I will take to begin working toward each of those goals are:
3 things I’m looking forward to in the next year are:
5 new things I want to try over the next year are:
I’d love to hear your answers to these questions. If you want to share please DM me @soulfulspace.coaching on Facebook or Instagram, or send me an email at kate@soulfulspacecoaching.com.
Hang onto these questions and your answers to them. On March 21, June 21, September 21, and December 21, or 4 checkpoints of your choosing, pull them out and answer the first set of questions as they apply to the previous 3 months. Then check in on the goals and intentions you identified for the year and see where you sit at this time.
If you’ve met all of your goals already (wow) set some new ones! If you’re struggling with a few try to release the instinct to criticize yourself or give up. Re-evaluate. Was that goal appropriate for you at this time? Does it need some tweaking? Is there something that is holding you back from letting you work toward that goal?
Then it will be time to move forward once again!
After you’ve sat down with these questions, you might find you could use some support in moving into 2021. If so, get in touch with me and we’ll get you moving toward your goals with coaching and teamwork.
Have a beautiful New Year!