Reflecting vs Resolutions

This is a great time of year to reflect on the year. As most of you know I'm not much of a resolutions kind of gal. I've always felt if something needs to change, then change it. I'm not waiting for the new year. That said, I do take this time to see how far I've come on my journey over the past year and I have things in mind that I know I will do to move the journey forward in the coming year. It is a look in the rear view mirror  so to speak and I do try to visualize what I want or hope for for myself, my family and the world around us in the coming year. It has been a year full of big accomplishments in my household and I don't look at myself as an overachiever or perfectionist, but there were big rocks that had to be moved in order to make it to the next phase of my journey and I knew going into this year that I would experience a fair amount of stress though I never lost sight of the goals and I cannot help but feel like it all came together near the end of the year tied up in one big pretty bow. It isn't often I feel that way at the new year... it usually feels like a big mess, so I will savor this one for sure... and yet there were items that were lower on the priority list that will get pushed to next year and I'm really ok with that. Many people experience anxiety or anticipation around the coming year with undue pressure that they put on themselves. This is something I find to be counterproductive and I personally don't set goals for myself that are unrealistic. They sometimes may seem like a bit of a stretch, but not unrealistic by any means.

My Christmas gift to myself is acceptance, not just of myself, but of others and of situations or circumstances. There will always be work to be done, but I feel that acceptance is a great way to be in the moment. My second gift is learning to roll with the punches (This is not a new gift, but one I'm constantly honing). Though I've always been fairly adept at accepting change, I feel I am much more at peace when change takes place now and I feel as though the year in the "rear view" or in retrospect was a big lesson in experiencing peace along with major changes, which makes it soooo much easier to embrace and get on with life. I'm still working through the last exercise from my previous post about how we reflect/project our feelings onto others or onto objects, so I don't have an update other than the continuation has been just as impactful. I feel lighter about life and like I have room for whatever the coming year will bring. This is a good place to be and I'm thankful for that.

I'm proud of my family and friends as I've seen so many of them achieve growth personally and professionally that has been impactful in a positive way in their lives and in mine. They may not realize it, but I want to be the one to acknowledge them.

May the coming year reveal great opportunities as it unravels its seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months! I wish you success with all the coming challenges the new year will bring and my hope is that you will be gentle with yourself in this fast paced and sometimes crazy world we live in.  My wish for my readers is for peace, love and joy! Happy New Year!