Long before I formally launched my coaching practice, I would create and facilitate deeply reflective activities with many of my friends. Since the field of coaching was somewhat new at that time, I hadn’t realized that this is what I was doing until a friend asked, “Have you ever thought about being a life coach?” I didn’t know there was a name for what came to me so naturally and organically. One of the activities that I loved doing with my friends at this time of year was a session I called Reflections and Revelations. It was a way for us to reflect on our year by focusing on what worked, what didn’t, what we learned along the way. We would then use what we discovered to plan for the year ahead. We closed the session by going out onto my porch and burning little slips of paper where we wrote the things that we wanted to release into a tiny fire in a portable barbeque grill. This final week of the year is the ideal time to create or enhance your existing end of the year ritual. Here are a few strategies to help you as you do your year-end review. Reflect. Start with identifying your learning style. Some of the standard recommendations for year-end rituals may not be what’s best for you, so find out what works and make it unique to you. As a visual learner, I love to start with a calendar walk. This is where you swipe through your electronic calendar or flip through your paper planner to look back at the work you’ve done, and the experiences you’ve had. You can do this same process with a journal, or notebooks where you wrote your personal or professional tasks and ideas throughout the year. Once you’ve done a thorough review, reflect in a way that aligns with your learning style using the following questions as a guide. What are you most proud of? What do you want to celebrate? Reveal. As you review your year, you may encounter things that were challenging, times you felt stuck, or instances where you were stretched beyond your capacity or zone of comfort. Recently I did a ‘Letter to Self’ activity and discovered that while I had lots of wins this year, there was also quite a bit of heartache and heartbreak. I also realized that I didn’t give myself as much time and space to process it all, even though I spent a lot of time supporting my clients to identify and work through similar types of grief over the last two years. This helped me to identify that I need to set aside more time and space in the new year to allow myself to process my own emotions, heal, and grieve. As you think back, use these questions to guide your wonderings. What did you learn this year? Where are some areas that you want to grow? Release. Now that you’ve taken inventory of your year, it’s time to identify what you want to release. Yesterday I spent hours cleaning out my closet. The bulk of the work included releasing all the clothes that no longer fit my 'right now body' that I had been saving for my 'someday body.' I also threw away so many random things that I had been holding onto that were not only taking up physical space, but mental and emotional space. Some of the other things that take up emotional space that may need to be released include relationships, responsibilities, distractions, beliefs, and identities that no longer fit who you are right now. Use these questions to identify what you want and need to release. What literal things (clothing, documents, broken items, etc.) do you need to release? What non-tangible (relationships, mindsets, patterns, etc.) things do you need to release? This week I challenge you to set aside time to review your year. What you discover can help you to clear old energy and give you a clean mental and emotional canvas to create the life you desire in the year ahead. Manifestation Affirmations I am clearing mental and emotional clutter to make space for peace and healing. I am creating healing rituals that work for my unique learning style. I am releasing that which no longer honors and celebrates who I am in this moment.
Master Your Mindset to Manifest a Life You Love. Most Sincerely, Monica Marie Jones
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