If life is an adventure, then mine is one hell of an experience! Each year I take a week off over New Years to reflect on the previous year and make plans for the current year. I like to think of my annual plans as a loosely plotted road map for the upcoming year. I say loosely plotted because some of my most epic opportunities have come from going off-road, and while the trip may have been bumpy at times, I have never regretted where those roads took me!
My week of reflection is done at our lake house, in solitude. Water soothes my soul and grounds me in a way that solid earth never could. While much of my week is spent in silence, letting words and thoughts wash over me, I will admit to having recently joined the Netflix bandwagon...so I did have the company of Grace and Frankie to lighten my deep contemplation!
Armed with snacks (Wheat Thins slathered in PB&J...mmm), steaming cups of tea, my pen, last year’s planner (OMG...if you need a planner, check out My Shining Year Life Goals Workbook, by Leonie Dawson. It’s pure GOLD!) and calendar (The Happy Planner, because who isn’t happy when they have a plan?!) along with a fresh copy of each, and I am ready to rock ‘n roll...or hum and snuggle as the case may be... Despite my cozy set up, this is one of my most productive weeks of the year. This week of work sets up an entire year of building and growing!
(side note, both of my favorites are available on Amazon if you are still looking for a planner to kick off the new year!)
2019 was a hell of a year to end a decade. I spent time in gratitude for what worked and even what didn’t. I celebrated both my successes and my failures (or life’s u-turns as I like to think of them- time to turn around and find a new route!) I reflected on my adventures, travels and the people that joined me on them. I remembered people lost...those who left the earth and the ones I choose to let go. I looked at how I spent my time and made note of the times that I found most fulfilling.
With my heart full of thanksgiving for 2019’s lessons, I started to plan for the new year. All of my goals fall under one primary mission: to live my best life. I set goals for my relationships, both family and friends. My health goals are set creating a space for self-care that nourishes my body, my soul and my mind. My business goals, finances, adventure, and home renovations, all come into support that mission of living a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside.
This process has been on repeat for the last five years. Sit, review, think, feel, create, write, organize and plan...then put those plans in motion! I know I am not alone in having a review and planning sesh (I see you out there, all you Type-A, First Borns and Virgos!) but how many also attach a New Year Resolution to their plan? Me...I choose a word.
A Word of the Year. One little Word. It’s like a promise to myself to let this word work it’s magic in my life as it shapes and directs my daily actions throughout the year.
2018 - Freedom. A seed planted in my heart in December of 2017, became my anthem for the entirety of the following year.
2019 - Become - This year I wrote my story of how I grew from a wellness industry executive into a BRAND. I let myself truly become everything that I was meant to be, which included a renewed focus on becoming a better, healthier version of me. You know, letting go of the past so that I could be in charge of my present, and becoming an all-around badass boss babe!
And so….2020….my word for you is MORE. More adventure. More self-care. More mindfulness. More abundance. More moments that take my breath away, and more opportunities for gratitude. More clients. More growth for my brand. More hikes. More days at the beach. More tacos and definitely more margaritas.
To be honest, my girl Cori Lasshan from Vineyard Yoga SYV posted the word on Instagram and like a deep breath filling my lungs, MORE slipped in and filled my soul and outbreathed my new mantra, “Thank you Universe! MORE please!”
And then the Universe responded….in the fast-food drive-through of all places! My fav fast-food taco joint uses the slogan Live Mas! LIVE MORE! and when tacos speak, I listen. Amen. So with a taco in hand, humming my boy Billy Idol (seriously he’s my fav! I’ve seen him in concert 8 times!)....More, More More…..it just felt right.
Thank you Universe, MORE please!