The end of 2021
Getting to the end of the year is filled with all sorts of emotions. You feel like on the one hand you should be looking forward to the new year and all the magic and excitement it brings. On the other hand you want to be present with family and friends and spend time creating memories. Then there’s the whole thing of looking back over the year and reflecting on all the things that actually did happen! It’s easy to feel frazzled simply by not knowing where you are mentally! The truth is you can be wherever you would like to be. That is the power of the mind when used well. It’s a machine that can power you through the most amazing journey in life. You don’t want to switch it off and miss the magic that is your daily life!
Christmas and New-Year time can be filled with nostalgia and sometimes that’s hard. Looking back, as fun as it can be when there are photos of smiling faces and happy times, can bring pain when there are tough challenges in life.
My advice? To let your feelings be. Don’t try to push them away or brush them off with thoughts like “oh this is minor; I should just get over it!” Allow your feelings to come up and understand how you are feeling in your body. They will pass by when you you allow them to do so naturally. Yes you may feel sad or you may feel worried and it may not feel great in the moment BUT this is part of having a human experience in life. Feelings can be good or bad and either way they serve to gift you something be it a learning experience or a message or even a subtle cue. They are silent nudges to things in your life that may not be in harmony. It’s up to you to listen to them and process them through with awareness.
Whatever you are feeling in the moment is exactly ok for where your mind is. The important thing is to notice how it makes you feel. If you don’t like the way you feel try digging into why you are thinking a certain way and building awareness of what makes you think that way. (If you want to go into this deep please get in touch with me to book a consult as this is something I absolutely LOVE helping people work through with one-to-one coaching).
I love using journaling to build awareness of my thoughts. I like to ask myself questions and get curious on what is going on in my mind. It makes life fun and less daunting. I’m no longer afraid of what is going in my mind because I have the tools in place to manage my mind. Now and in the future.
Want to experiment with your own journaling session?
Here are a few journaling prompts to help you get started: Think about what comes up and don’t censor yourself. There are no right or wrong answers.
What worked well this past season?
What was challenging?
What am I super grateful for?
What made me smile?
What am I listening to/ reading/ watching?
Who am I grateful for and why?
What am I choosing for the next season of my life?
Once you’ve answered these questions and really let you mind wander with the answers you will find that there are patterns. Certain words or themes will come up and these are the clues as to where you mind goes when left to roam. With this information you can decide what you want to feel and what thoughts you want to work with. It will help you move forward and build greater clarity.
You are your own best advisor if you allow yourself to simply be and stop trying to beat yourself up. We all know what is good for us and what the next best thing is.
Today take time to really get clear on what you’re thinking and how you’re feeling. If you want to feel different you can – I promise you it can happen. It takes a bit of time and an intentional decision to slow down. You won’t lose time and you won’t regret getting clear on what you want. In fact slowing down now to get super clear will make every future decision become crystal clear.
Instead of blindly following your emotions today try seeing what patterns you can spot in your thinking and see how a lot of these patterns just happen as if by coincidence. They then create your feeling be it anxiety or stress or impatience.
Changing your life starts with one thought – I want to things to be different.
Thank you for reading this post and I’ll chat to you in soon.