I am not much for New Year’s resolutions. I am sure they can work for some, but I need something more than the changing of the calendar to drive me to make substantive life changes. (Plus, I can be a little self-sabotage-y when I’m not 100% committed to something.) But I do like to start and end the year on purpose, so I do LOVE the energy that comes around with the start of a new year. The poignancy of looking at the year past and the excitement of a brand new year ahead. A new planner with nothing yet in it. All those days, weeks, and months of things to come. So many possibilities! And the things I learn from reviewing the past year and planning the next, now THAT propels me to make positive changes every year.
In the past few years, I have found a few tools & practices that help me start and end the year on purpose, so I thought I’d share them with you, to help you jumpstart this January!
The Year Compass
Complete The Year Compass – This is a free, online, printable booklet that will guide you through reflecting back on the year that has passed and dream about the year to come. I’ve used this for several years now and love both the record it creates for me to look back on and the goals it helps me set for the future. It takes a couple of hours to do it WELL, but it is SO worth it. I like to do this before I do the next step, as it consistently gives me a great high-level perspective.
Make a Vision Board… Seriously.
Do a Vision Board (while drinking kombucha and burning patchouli incense). Just kidding about the last two (unless they are your thing and in that case you do you)… I do love kombucha though… so there’s a good chance I’ll have Mother Kombucha in my hand while visioning this year. Anyway… I was such a skeptic about vision boards and totally thought it was hippy mumbo jumbo UNTIL I actually started using one. (Tangent – I also thought that self-talk was hokum until science proved me wrong… Check out that lesson here.) . Anyway, last year was the first time I went all out and created both a vision board for my office AND one for the back of my Passion Planner. I did it with friends as part of a vision board workshop that we set up at my BFFs house. We had drinks and snacks and cut up magazines all over her living room and it was a blast, y’all.
I can’t tell you how many times I looked at those boards throughout the year to refocus and remind myself what I was working towards. If you are at all a visual person, this can have an immense impact. And even if you aren’t, seeing these images on a regular basis can have a big impact on your subconscious! So let’s get our minds working on our dreams even while we are binging on The Office! 😉
Dream Big with Rachel Hollis
Listen to the Rise Podcast with Rachel Hollis, the November 26th, 2018 episode and do what she says. Rachel talks all about the practice she does everyday that has changed her life. She walks you through some serious dreaming and helps you narrow it down to goals and explains how it fits into your busy life. I hadn’t allowed myself to dream big (and I mean BIG… your friends will think you are nuts big) pretty much ever and it really got me excited for the future and all of the potential that is out there! This is the first year I have used this practice (and am doing so with the Start Today Journal – but it can be done in any notebook as well) and am super excited to see where it leads.
So whether you use one (or all 3!) of these tools or do your own thing, I really hope you will take the time to look back at this past year and see how you’ve grown, look at the challenges you faced and conquered and all the lessons you learned along the way. I also hope you are brave enough to ask your heart what your true, big dreams are and figure out a way to work towards them. Either way, I hope you will start and end the year on purpose. Here’s to a very happy, healthy and productive New Year!
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