It’s hard to believe another calendar year is coming to a close.
Has it been what you expected?
What did you accomplish?
I’ve become a believer in the art and delight of celebration.
Part of celebrating means “reverse engineering” what worked well and why.
As part of reflecting on your previous 11-12 months, I invite you to fill in the following prompts:
#1 List your most frequent THOUGHTS (3-5 thoughts/life area)
Have you ever noticed – really, really noticed – the constant stream of thinking?
There’s the thinking you “hear” and then all the thinking that doesn’t even catch your attention.
Here’s a scenario: Next time you are parked at a stoplight, notice the thinking.
You might notice the “about them” thoughts: “That car sure is going fast…” or “I wonder where they’re going today…”
Then there’s the thinking you don’t even notice – paying attention to the lights, whether anyone’s in the crosswalks, keeping your foot on the brake. There’s so much thinking that you don’t even pay attention to or you might lose your mind. Ha!
Now, think of your largest projects in the past year, things like your health, your business or career, your family, your romantic relationship, the relationship with yourself.
Write down all of those life areas and list your top 3-5 thoughts about each one.
Are your habitual thoughts expansive, loving, and creative?
Or are they contractive, judgmental, and limit your possibilities?
When you’re done with this exercise, you might see opportunities to practice new thoughts in each of your primary life areas next year. List 2-3 thoughts you’d love to practice on purpose.
#2 List your most frequent FEELINGS (3 “expansive” or “positive” and 3 “contractive” or “negative”)
Most of us have feeling habits.
Our habit feelings come from our habitual, default, unexamined thinking.
Reflecting back on the year past, what are your most common feelings?
I don’t like to label feelings “positive” or “negative” but it is a shortcut description for most of us.
Feelings are powerful indicators of where our minds are at.
I do not expect myself to be “happy” or “positive” all the time. I mean, goodness!, my dog has no worries in this life and sometimes she’s impatient and worried like during a noisy thunder storm.
All humans with our sophisticated minds have a range of high vibe and low vibe feelings.
What are your most common go-to feelings?
Look at those life areas again. Write your top feelings for each one.
You might see “business/career” and feel proud, stuck, challenged, bored, supported, or frustrated.
When you see your most frequent feelings, do you see opportunities for adjustments?
What changes would you like to make next year?
#3 Decide what you’d like to practice next year
The exercises to write down your list of most frequent thoughts and feelings is essentially an invitation to increase awareness of your habit of mind.
After all, we become what we think, feel, and do on repeat.
The coming new year is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what you want to create in your life.
When you know what you want to create, you can reverse engineer your way into what you’d likely be thinking and feeling to make those wishes come true.
And I, for one, really believe you can make your dreams come true.
Let’s have fun with these exercises…and see what we learn about ourselves in the process!
P.S. I invite you to fall in love with the “Less Stress, More Fun” podcast. Subscribe today! Each week’s episodes offer smart, fun ideas to reduce stress and boost your sense of playfulness.
