Are You Building a Life You Love? [Checking In On New Year's Intentions]
If you’ve been around the Thriving Thursdays community for a while you might remember that back in January I shared a few ideas you could try (in the spirit of New Year’s Goals/Intentions/Resolutions) to help you to start moving closer and closer to a life you love, or a life you love EVEN MORE than the one you already have.
We’ve finished a third of 2017 already – so it seems like a good time to check in and...
Remember.
Celebrate.
Readjust.
Move ahead.
You might remember that the first thing I asked way back in the heart of winter was, “What do you want to FEEL in 2017?”
A few of my words were “delighted, lighthearted and grateful.” And it was good for me to be reminded of this a few days ago. What were yours?
What did you want to feel in 2017? Did you set other goals or intentions? What were they?
If you can’t remember, but you recorded your thoughts somewhere, this is a great time to go grab that notebook or open that file and just do a quick read-through. If not, it's never too late. Make your list now.
Then, as you read through your list (old or new,) notice how your body reacts to each item. Try, for just a minute, NOT to use your brain to analyze the items, just your body.
- Do you feel a heaviness in your chest, a “should “energy – as in, “Oh I really SHOULD so this.” - DROP IT. Yes, really. Let it go. See if the sky falls. My guess is it won't.
- Is there a goal that you thought you wanted but now, if you’re honest your body is saying “eh, whatever?” – PUT IT ON THE BACK BURNER. When you check in next time you can see if you want to move it back up front.
- Is there one you’d forgotten about but when you read it you feel like an excited puppy (even if it seems crazy, or unimportant or frivolous? – DECIDE WHAT TINY STEP YOU CAN TAKE TOWARDS IT THIS WEEK!
Then notice and CELEBRATE the progress you’ve made – even it’s not as much as you think you should have, or as much as you’d hoped.
We usually wait WAY too long to give ourselves the chance to celebrate! Think of yourself as a that little toddler stumbling her way across the room – wouldn’t you cheer each little step? And can you picture how that praise and excitement gives here more energy to keep going AND adds to her joy? That’s you, you might be stumbling along, but you’re getting there and it can be FUN along the way!
What has surprised you about your year so far? Have you experienced unexpected challenges? New opportunities? This can be a great time to readjust your intentions and plans.
What do you need to put in place on a practical level to keep moving towards what matters most to you, despite these surprises?
I’m adjusting my January intention to focus on building my business and creating a sustainable income for my family through it. I’m still building my coaching business, but as of May 15, I’ll also be starting a new job as Interim Executive Director of Early Childhood Programs at UCLA. I certainly didn’t expect this new opportunity to show up, but I’m very excited about it – so I’m putting things in place to keep my business going at the same time, while also caring well for my body, soul, spirit and family (so I can feel delighting, light-hearted and grateful amidst a much busier schedule.)
For those areas of your life where your check-in reveals that you’re not quite where you’d like to be, did you remember to Make It Easy?
Now could be a great time to add in another one of the ideas I wrote about here. Don’t depend on will-power; it’s highly overrated.
And of course, remember to practice self-compassion along the way.
If you need help figuring out how to move forward, shoot me and email and I’ll do my best to help you out.
Here’s to Thriving!
Deb