In a few days, 2020 is coming to an end, and we are entering a new and promising year. If you think of it, the end of the year and the beginning of a new year resembles a natural circle which fades away to leave the room to a new loop to open up.
Therefore, it is the right moment to review and assess 2020 and envision what will 2021 be like. It is the time to enlighten your inner self, take a journey inside yourself, open your heart and soul, connect truly and have an intimate discussion with yourself.
Find a place where it feels good and quiet. Make sure that no one and nothing will interrupt you for a while. Take a warm beverage, play a piece of relaxing music, take a piece of paper and a pen and take some notes.
Start with a short meditation session to connect with your heart and your inner self. Take 2-3 deep breaths that will help you slow down, try to empty your brain and don’t pay any attention to the coming thoughts. After a few minutes and once you connect with your breath, the thoughts will fly away like clouds in the sky.
Once you have calmed down and you are finally alone and aligned with your inner world, you will most probably be in a position to answer some questions to yourself and say goodbye gently to 2020 to welcome 2021 with optimism.
Let 2020 go:
Take 2020 in review and assess what it meant to you by answering a few questions with honesty and no judgement. Observe what happened without blaming yourself and with no guilty feeling or any remorse.
- What are the good things that happened to you in 2020?
- What were your biggest challenges?
- How did you react to unpredicted events?
- What project(s) did you plan but finally didn’t accomplish?
- Are there any activities or projects you would like to abandon -and if yes, then, why?
- What went well, and you want to continue doing?
- What were the best relationships you established in 2020 that you still want to improve?
- What are the essential and positive aspects of the good connections you had?
- Who were the persons in your surrounding that supported you and in which manner did they do so?
- Are there any relationships in your life that you would like to let go?
- How did you grow in 2020? What helped you grow?
- Do you spend enough time on your self-care? Do you feel good in your body?
- Do you love the work you do? What is that feels satisfaction in your career, and what would you like to change?
- What were the positive changes you experienced in 2020?
- What are the events which you had control over and you would have wanted them to evolve differently?
- What did 2020 teach you?
- What is the word or the sentence that better summarizes 2020 for you?
- If your life was a book, what would be the title of the 2020 chapter?
Once you’ve answered these questions, it is time to think of the year ahead and get all set for 2021.
Concentrate on your intentions, on the big image. Then, identify your goals and, then only, the simple steps that need to be taken to that direction. Focus on what you want to achieve and not on what you need to change.
I will give you an example to make it easier:
An intention is to learn how to eat healthily and feel better in your body, while a goal is that you want to lose 5 kg by Easter.
An intention is to increase your career satisfaction, while a goal is to change your job or get a promotion in your current position by Easter.
An intention is to improve your communication levels with your kids, and a goal is to spend quality time an hour every day with your kids by having a creative occupation with them.
See the forest for the trees … but since there is no forest without trees … don’t overlook the trees!
Visualize the ideal forest for you. How do you imagine it? Will it have tall trees? Short bushes? Will it be sunny or atmospheric? How do you prefer it? Try to imagine yourself inside this forest and answer the following questions by focusing each time on your intentions and setting for each intention at least one goal.
Step into 2021:
- What are your priorities in life for the new year? What do you need to do to empower them? What are the key actions?
- What are the most important relationships to you, and how can you turn them to be even more essential and real?
- In what area or sector would you like to improve? How can you succeed in this?
- Do you have in mind any project which is essential for you to achieve? What are the key actions you should focus on to complete this project?
- What are the activities you would like to see yourself spend more time with? What would be the positive impact on yourself? How can you integrate these activities in your daily schedule? When can you do this?
- What would you like to change in your life? What is the step that could help you in this direction?
- What would make you feel better and more energized in your body? How could you make this happen and when?
- How can you jump out of your comfort zone? How will you feel after this jump?
- What is your intuition trying to tell you? If you knew that you have nothing to lose, what would you do to follow your intuition?
- What is the word or the sentence that you would like 2021 to summarize yourself better?
- If your life was a book, what would you like the title of 2021 chapter to be?
Once you have prepared the ground for the forest you want to step in, try to visualize yourself in it. Try to imagine yourself walking in this forest and feel the sensation and the impact on your body and soul.
Imagine the new year, feel the bliss and the feeling of success, joy and satisfaction in all the areas of your life that you have set as a priority.
Let 2021 be the year that will bring you closer to yourself and the vision you have of it!
Happy New Year!
Isabelle Razis
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This article was first published on GovaStileto.gr in Greek.
