Did you have
a wonderful Christmas? I hope so. I certainly did, spending it with all my close
family for the first time in several years. But I can’t help noticing that the
holiday season flies by so quickly, especially if you have to return to work
between Christmas and New Year.
Which leads
me to ponder - is it just me, or are you also surprised to find that we are at
the very end of 2017 already? I’m sure it should only be the end of August, not
December!
I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by. It has been an
interesting year marked by amazing highs such as raising money for WaterAid by
drinking only water for the whole of January, having an Amazon number 1
bestselling book in April (“Success with Style: How to
Create a Signature Look That Says You Mean Business” – just in case you are
interested!), becoming
the Minutes Secretary for the Gosport Society and writing a weekly piece for the Gosport Globe online newspaper, to
name just a few. Of course there have been challenges as well, but the
challenges are all part of life and make us stronger and wiser (in theory)!
I believe that life is what you make it and what you decide it will be
and I consider that this year has been very positive and life-affirming in all
its aspects.
I generally use the space between the end of Christmas and the New Year
to look back over the year and remember the good times. This is made easier
because I have spent the year filling my ‘Memories Jar’ with all the good times
and events that have happened. This year I have accumulated more than 300
memories in my jar, which means that it has been pretty full since the summer.
I have been cramming in more and more highlights until it seems, now, to be
totally full. But it has been so lovely to look back over the year and
reminisce about fun times, happy days, surprise gifts and accomplished goals. However,
dwelling on the past for too long, whether good or bad, shows great disrespect
for the future, so once I have read all my entries, it is time to put them
behind me and move on.
My overflowing Memories Jar. (Photo by Alan Dent)
Reviewing the year in this way celebrates the small wins that have
happened over the space of the year. It is a fun activity that generates a great
deal of positive energy and optimism for the future. After that it is time to
look forward and plan what I want to achieve in 2018. I plan to build on the
positives from 2017 and use the lessons that the challenges brought to increase
my wisdom, creativity and growth. (Yes, I know, they are lofty ideals and I
have no idea how I will achieve this – yet. But this is the aim.)
If you would like to learn how to create a Memories Jar of your own and
fill it with all the great stuff that 2018 will bring, then please email me at sue@successandimagecoach.co.uk and I
will be happy to provide some information. I am currently working on a short
workshop on the process, including decorating the jar.
But now it
is time to lovingly begin the process of creating a 2018 to remember and this
year I will be taking a slightly different, four-step approach.
Step
1.
I will begin
by deciding what I want to continue
doing more of. These are the activities that worked – they may have made me
happy, helped others, made money – whatever they are I will build on them and
continue. So continue writing, healthy eating, walking, doing creative
activities that I enjoy – you get the idea?
Step
2.
What do I
want to stop doing? I want to stop
worrying so much and stressing about things that I cannot control or which are
unimportant – such as traffic lights changing to red when `I reach the lights.
Step
3.
What do I
want to do less of? I want to eat
less ‘rubbish’ and complain less. I want to waste less time, be less critical
of myself (and others).
Step
4.
What new
activities do I want to start doing?
I want to learn to meditate and carve out some time each day to be still.
What are your answers to these questions? Once
you have thought about them you can begin to create your ideal year and make
2018 your best year yet. Decide how you want it to be and then work out what
you have to do and who you have to become to achieve it.
A few weeks
ago a coach asked a question – when you have achieved your goals this year, how
will your life feel? Most people answered by stating what they would be doing –
but I had a different answer. I want my life to feel light, bright, happy,
healthy, whirly, twirly, twinkly and sparkly!
How do you
want your life to feel?
So I will
end by wishing you a very Happy, Healthy and Successful New Year that feels
exactly right for you.
