I can’t believe that not only has 2019 come to a close but it’s the start of a brand new decade! Time passes so so quickly and that can feel disappointing and even frustrating if we aren’t living our lives intentionally.
It’s a pretty common practice to commit to a set of resolutions or goals at the start of a brand new year. New Year’s Day is also a great day for looking back at experiences, at the joys, the sorrows , the growth and “mining for gold” in ALL the experiences. It doesn’t have to be all done on New Year’s Day though. I’ve taken the last couple of weeks to look back at not only 2019 but the entire last decade. I have a handful of different types of ” journals” including a ten-year journal, my Vision Board Success binder and my 3-a-day gratitude journal. I love my 10 year journal. Each page is for one day of the year and gives space for writing an entry for each year. At a glance I can review years of writing on that same day.
What a valuable experience it is to sit reading and reviewing the past decade of my life and how the various experiences have impacted my life. Looking for lessons I’ve learned, things or people I’ve had to say goodbye to, repeating themes, etc.
Reading these have filled me with a lot of different emotions but the over riding thought has been that I have been richly blessed!
The last decade has definitely brought many challenges and heart aches including my second cancer diagnosis and a prognosis of cancer likely being a lifetime chronic disease for me. But honestly, the gratitude I feel for the many lessons I’ve learned, the things I’ve survived and overcome and the beautiful gifts of life I’ve received is definitely the overriding emotion. I can’t seem to write fast enough as I read and contemplate this last decade and list all the blessing and gifts!! It’s been amazing…So very much to celebrate! ( I need to plan a celebration befitting 🙂
It’s also clear that there are things that I need to put behind me, thoughts and things that don’t serve me well that I need to let go of.
Here are just some of the questions I am asking myself-
- What new things did I discover about myself?
- What new habits did I cultivate?
- Who or what had the biggest impact on my life this past year?
- What was the funniest moment of the year?
- Did any part of myself or my life do a complete 180 this past year?
Now the real fun begins!
What do I want to create in this next year and decade of my life??
One of the greatest gifts of the last decade has been the knowledge and tools I’ve acquired that give me the power to create the life I desire. That life is not simply what is thrown at you. I used to think that life was what it was and my part in it was to decide how to respond to it – would I respond negatively or find the good and respond positively. Now I’ve learned that I have much more power to actually intentionally create my future by choosing which thoughts and emotions I decide to spend time with. Those thought and emotions I spend the most time with become actions and habits and then create the results I have in my life. Now that’s pretty simply said but to go into that with more detail is a whole other blog post 🙂
Suffice it to say, this new knowledge has been life-changing.
If this practice of looking back at the end of the year and “ mining for gold”, celebrating the good and then intentionally looking forward to creating the new year, is not something you have done yet, I highly suggest it. It’s such a soul filling and empowering time to spend with yourself. There’s nothing magical about doing it all on New’s Years Day (although that is a great thing to do, in fact stay tuned, Empowered Survival is considering planning a day long retreat New Year’s Day 2021 to do just this.) So if you haven’t done this for yourself this year, set aside a little time and get started. You will be so glad you did!
Here’s to creating a fabulous new year!
Empowered Survival 