2016 is was an EYE OPENER for me! As I sat on the plane coming home from holiday vacation I saw this amazing skyline. It felt like the right moment to reflect on the year passed and think about my lessons learned - lessons I can use going into 2017 and think are helpful for everyone. I can't wait to see what the new year holds and am joyfully optimistic that it will be filled with magic.
The last year was equal amounts of amazing to equal amounts of yuck. I do feel that I grew up a lot in 2016. I took some risks and stretched myself more out of my comfort zones. I wrote for the Jungalow.com, gave an inspiration shopping tour at Alt Summit, started Periscoping and created the Heart 2 Art show and FB community with a my friend, Anne, exhibited at Surtex, started coaching more, taught social media again and worked on some exciting projects that took me in new directions. There were bumps along the way and some big disappointments but I learned a lot about myself which I summed up here into three things:
1. Be More Patient & Let Go I get really anxious and impatient about something that I want to happen and I obsess, it doesn't work out and I dwell. I am sure this is pretty common but I learned to let go more and more and release my control. It is easier said than done but it has helped me tremendously. I realized I can't control the situation but I can control how I react. For me it's about not wasting energy and avoiding any unnecessary anguish. Another thing I do is I always want to know WHY something happened. I do spend a little time trying to find the lesson in it and when I do it is healing. I may figure out why it was caused in the first place (usually to create a better outcome that I may not have noticed) or what it is teaching me. But I usually abandon it after awhile if I can't see why since it isn't worth the energy and I need to move on. Just let things go and don't sweat it.
2. Be More Flexible I can highly recommend going with the flow. Letting things play out, easing up your impatience and being flexible THROUGHOUT it ALL - especially when it doesn't work out - can really save you a lot of suffering or frustration. If things swing one way now I just go with it and lean into that direction. Resistance will make things go sideways. Pushing against something will just make it worse and not help the situation. Go with the flow!
3. Be Gentler to Myself Being more gentle with yourself can work wonders too. We are all hard on ourselves and it just causes us to spiral down more and more. I spend a lot less time making myself feel bad now. It hasn't helped me move forward and keeps me from focusing on the positive. It messes with your confidence and self esteem too. Why would you want to stay in a mental prison? Again it is about not spending our energy in the wrong places - I'd much rather spend it being happy, optimistic and looking to the future than beating myself up all day over something that was in the past. Go easy on yourself and let yourself off the hook!
I am hopeful for 2017 and plan on being more easy-going, optimistic and enjoying life more. Hope that the new year is expansive, joyful and your best year yet!