Reflecting on 2019 as Preparation for 2020
The above photo makes me smile every time I see it (thanks Bethanie Hines Photography). It reflects the beauty, support, community and commitment to my calling that 2019’s path-through-the-wilderness brought. That’s what our life feels like sometimes right? Wilderness. And when we finally see a clear path opening up, we tend to break out into a full sprint! Before you go all Allyson Felix (the Olympic sprinter that broke Usain Bolt’s world record just 10 months after giving birth) for 2020, I’m going to ask you to slow your roll.
At the beginning of a new year, well sometimes at the beginning of a new anything, we tend to speed up, avert our eyes and move swiftly past reflection toward what we fiercely hope will be a better experience. If we do spend quiet time alone reflecting (or with girlfriends over wine or ice cream) the human in us tends to look back over the thing we just finished, a relationship/job/diet/year, and highlight what went wrong.
I knew what to do but didn’t do it… I kept saying I wouldn’t go back, but I did… I wouldn’t be in this situation if I’d spoken up… I felt stuck all year… Why am I starting off the year broke again? I tried that diet! Well kind of.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that we should be in denial. However, I guarantee you’ve already beat yourself up about those things once, if not 10 times already! Allow yourself to heal from the wounds these situations have caused and the reopening of flesh from the harsh words said to you, by you.
I’m encouraging the Divine in you to consider reflecting on your past year in the following ways:
Ask yourself:
- What were the joy-filled, funniest or fun moments of 2019?
- In what ways was I a BADASS? or for those of you who don’t have a potty-mouth like me, In what ways did I SLAY?
- When did I show up as the best version of myself?
- What did I learn last year?
- What opportunities were offered to me (whether I accepted or not)?
- What am I grateful for?
Sit a moment in stillness, pull out a pen and paper (or prepare to type) and come up with 3 to 10 things for each. Yes, you will be able to! Here are some other ways to remind yourself (please don’t go down a rabbit hole with these, give yourself a time limit of 15 min to review):
- Ask your friends or mentors (often they remember things that you have glossed over)
- Look over your 2019 social media posts
- Go through your 2019 calendar (online, phone or paper)
- Look through some saved emails
- Meditate
Now. How do you feel?
I’d love for you to reply with your answers or share them in the Powerhouse Rising group.
In Spirit,
