Three Questions to Answer Before 2017

Although I appear extremely calm, I am a totally type A personality.  Goals are my thing. The end of the year is really exciting for me. I LOVE reflecting and evaluating and then setting really juicy goals for the year to come.  But, my mantra is to know where you want to go, you need to spend a little time evaluating where you are now.  I ask myself three questions.

1. What did I do this year that I should personally celebrate? This is really important because we want to end and begin the year with positive energy and be uplifted by celebrating all the little and big victories of the year. Too often we get bogged down in mistakes. As our mom’s encouraged us when we were little: pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and keep moving. Positive energy attracts more positivity; negative energy attracts more of what we don’t want. Leave the mistakes behind and move forward.
2. What part or aspect of myself wants to be expressed or developed in the new year? We should be always growing, changing, and evolving. There are new parts of me bubbling up.  There are things I learned in the past year I wish to deepen. 2017 will present opportunities which I want to embrace. The same is true for you. Maybe you are a great writer and haven’t been using that gift. Start journaling or writing articles or spend 15 minutes a day writing the book you’ve always dreamed up.  
3. What change would I like to see? I want to stay current and dynamic. I love to garden and I quickly noticed that either things are growing or they are dying- nothing is static. In addition, we want to embrace change, not have it thrown at us by “teaching life moments.”  Approaching change from a place of strength is a luxury we should afford ourselves.  Don’t wait till the doctor tells you, you have to eat health to do it.

After I answer these question, I share my insights with a friend. Accountability is always a good thing when goal setting. Perhaps you and a friend could do your year end evaluation; then meet for lunch to share and encourage each other. For accountability, here are my answers:

1. Celebrate: opening Jolie; bonding summer vacation with the family; Irina misses me more than she imagined now that she’s at college; I finished my advanced energy training; I worked out consistently, especially during the busy times; I enjoyed my garden more than worked in it.
2. Part of me to be developed: boldness. I want to take more risks and get “comfortable with being uncomfortable” as they say. I want to put myself in social situations that stretch me and give myself some physical workout challenges.
3. Change to be seen: I want to appreciate more the process of working toward a goal.  I’m really impatient at times. I think I’ll do that by celebrating each step more.

I would love to know about your year.  Please share here, on Facebook, or come to Jolie.

With love and gratitude,
Julia
xo​