It’s never too late to create resolutions

February-09-2017 0 comments

I can imagine how you’re feeling.

Last December (as in 2015, not the one that just passed), I sank into the plush sofa of our cute cottage rental in the Austrian alps feeling unprepared, behind, frustrated and disappointed.

It was just a few days before the end of the year and I didn’t feel ‘ready’ to ring it in. I hadn’t reflected. I hadn’t mentally reviewed the year. I hadn’t journaled about the ups and downs and merry-go-rounds that filled up my days. Neither the beautiful scenery nor the rhythmic crackling of the fire could snap me out of my flow funk.

Until it did.

Fortunately, sitting in the frustration eventually birthed a whole new goal setting process that I’m super excited to share with you today.

It’s simple. It’s heart centered. It doesn’t involve spreadsheets or hours of reflecting. And most importantly, it busts the myth that “new year’s resolutions don’t stick”.

I know this because I used the process I’m about to share with you last year, and I achieved every. Single. Goal. For the first time in my life. And if you follow this 5 step process, you will too. See – sometimes it pays to be behind!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • One hour
  • Three blank pieces of paper
  • A black sharpie
  • A colored sharpie (optional, for the visual and color happy people)
  • An open mind
  • A desire to consciously create your life

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Introducing the 5 step process to hit your goals this year:

Step One: Brain Dump
Your Goal: Capture what stands out from last year

Grab a sheet of paper and your black sharpie and brain dump everything you remember about 2016. The good, the bad and the ugly. No filtering. No editing. No wondering if it’s worth writing it down. Just dump it like it’s hot and move on.

Flow Tip: to keep it moving, set a timer for 10 minutes and when it goes off, drop your sharpie and move on to step two. And for my sweet perfectionist friends, go ahead and read that tip again. *wink

Step Two: Highlight Reel
Your Goal: Recall and tap into those feel-good-feelings now as you remember these moments

Grab your coloured sharpie and looking at what you wrote, circle the best moments of last year as if you’re creating a highlight reel. What brings a smile to your face? What lights you up as you read it now? What moments were filled with awe, wonder and flow? What felt rich and life-altering, even if it was sprinkled with a little bit of stress (like a product launch or an open mic that ended up being a lot of fun)?

Step Three: Glean from the Less Glamorous
Your Goal: Flip your less glamorous moments into a teaching moment.

Looking at what you have not yet circled, grab the second sheet of paper and write down what you learned from those moments. What did it teach you? What would you do differently if it happened again? What pattern do you want to let go of now that you’ve seen the impact it has on your life?

For example, if you feel like you held back on a project last year, is the lesson about following your intuition? Saying no? Or maybe it sparked a desire to invest in your personal development this year? Every hard rock experience has a beautiful gem hidden in it, a lesson to learn, if you’re willing to excavate it.

Step Four: Invite again and Invite anew
Your Goal: Capture what you want to invite into this year

Grab your third piece of paper and brain dump what you want to experience this year. What do you want to invite in again, that you really enjoyed from last year? Connection with friends? Quiet moments in the mornings? And what do you want to invite into the year that you missed last year? Laughter? Creativity? Fun? Capture anything that comes up here. This is where you truly get to be the co-creator of your life experiences and open the doors to what you want.

Flow tip: the more you focus on the feelings you want to experience (eg. feel alive and energetic) vs the specifics (eg. ‘lose 10 pounds’), the more you open yourself up to the infinite ways you can experience that which you are ultimately wanting.

Step Five: Choose Your Theme Word(s)
Your Goal: Create one to three words that will serve as your theme and will guide every action, choice and decision you make this year

One by one, read what you just wrote, and check out how it makes you feel. How does your body react? Do you sit taller or do you shrink? Does the idea of a year filled with moments that have you experience that word excite you…or does it stink like a ‘should’? If it doesn’t make you want to jump up and down, cross it out! Follow your gut instinct on this and know that there really is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ here. Trust how it makes you feel and make your choice based on that.

That’s it.

You’ve now got the process I used last year that proved that resolutions (of this kind) CAN stick! And in case you were wondering, my three words last year were: Cleanse, Connect and Compose.

So…

Will you block an hour in your schedule this week to find your theme word for 2017? Come join me in feeling on top of it with a goal that actually sparks you and sets you up for success.

And to get some added momentum, hit reply and share your theme with me so I can hold the vision for you too!

With excitement,

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Ps. Want to know my one word for this year? Leave a comment and I’ll be happy to share!

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