The Best Year Yet
It's been a while since I've blogged, and I've missed it. But I'm back! The holidays were more quiet than festive, but I think that's a good thing. The past year was a very intense one for me and my family so the quiet time was helpful in reflecting on 2004 and preparing for the new year.
It was a bittersweet year. I lost a dear aunt, a great-aunt who was like a grandmother to me, and a dear colleague who died tragically. I've faced the on-going challenges of raising a teen-aged daughter while still adjusting to a relatively new marriage. I've juggled being wife, mother, friend and business-owner, sometimes more successfully than others. I've undergone major surgery and have a stack of medical bills to show for it.
On the other hand, my relationship with Christ as grown more intimate than ever. I've found a church home. I've made a wonderful set of new friends who share my passion for knitting. I've met my business goals in terms of accounts payable (now if I could just get everyone to pay on time!). After a protracted breast cancer scare, the tumors were removed and turned out to be benign. And we've welcomed a new baby into the family (my cousin adopted a beautiful baby boy who is bringing so much joy to our family despite the recent loss of my aunt - his grandmother).
So all in all, it was a good year. I read somewhere recently that some years are for questions, and other years are for answers. I think there's some truth to that. I started a journey last year on a path towards Simple Abundance. I asked a lot of tough questions. Sometimes the answers were painful, sometimes they were so simple that it was almost funny, and other times I had to fight my tendancy to deny the obvious and to recognize that my procrastination is not born of too much to do, but of lack of focus, downright laziness or fear.
And I've started getting some answers. Really good ones. For the first time in my life, I honestly believe that I know who I am, what I want, and what I need to do to make it happen. Now is the perfect time to start making it so. It's not about focusing on what I don't have, but recognizing and appreciating all that I do have, and realizing that I can and will bring abundance into my life on many levels.
So I went away for a few days of rest and relaxation. I visited with family and friends, which was great, but I also spent some quiet time reflecting on my accomplishments and lessons learned (not always from my accomplishments) in the previous year. Then I spent some time thinking about all the things I'd like to do this year It was hard, but I narrowed the list down to my top 10 goals for the year.
I used a modified version of a process I've been using for the past several years that came from a book called Best Year Yet . After identifying each of the many hats I wear, I was able to define my roles as: Authentic Self, Wife/Partner, Mother, Friend, Business Owner. Each year I pick one role to focus on. In the past several years, I've picked each one except my Authentic Self, which I noticed wasn't even on any of the previous year's lists. How interesting is that? No wonder I struggle with the other roles. How can I take care of anyone else if I'm not taking care of myself? I'm reminded of the instructions from the flight attendant each time I board an airplane. In the event of an emergency, should the oxygen masks drop, we're always instructed to put our mask on first before helping other passengers with theirs. There's a reason for that!
I believe that true commitment to our intentions means putting them "out there". So for me, out there is right here:
It was a bittersweet year. I lost a dear aunt, a great-aunt who was like a grandmother to me, and a dear colleague who died tragically. I've faced the on-going challenges of raising a teen-aged daughter while still adjusting to a relatively new marriage. I've juggled being wife, mother, friend and business-owner, sometimes more successfully than others. I've undergone major surgery and have a stack of medical bills to show for it.
On the other hand, my relationship with Christ as grown more intimate than ever. I've found a church home. I've made a wonderful set of new friends who share my passion for knitting. I've met my business goals in terms of accounts payable (now if I could just get everyone to pay on time!). After a protracted breast cancer scare, the tumors were removed and turned out to be benign. And we've welcomed a new baby into the family (my cousin adopted a beautiful baby boy who is bringing so much joy to our family despite the recent loss of my aunt - his grandmother).
So all in all, it was a good year. I read somewhere recently that some years are for questions, and other years are for answers. I think there's some truth to that. I started a journey last year on a path towards Simple Abundance. I asked a lot of tough questions. Sometimes the answers were painful, sometimes they were so simple that it was almost funny, and other times I had to fight my tendancy to deny the obvious and to recognize that my procrastination is not born of too much to do, but of lack of focus, downright laziness or fear.
And I've started getting some answers. Really good ones. For the first time in my life, I honestly believe that I know who I am, what I want, and what I need to do to make it happen. Now is the perfect time to start making it so. It's not about focusing on what I don't have, but recognizing and appreciating all that I do have, and realizing that I can and will bring abundance into my life on many levels.
So I went away for a few days of rest and relaxation. I visited with family and friends, which was great, but I also spent some quiet time reflecting on my accomplishments and lessons learned (not always from my accomplishments) in the previous year. Then I spent some time thinking about all the things I'd like to do this year It was hard, but I narrowed the list down to my top 10 goals for the year.
I used a modified version of a process I've been using for the past several years that came from a book called Best Year Yet . After identifying each of the many hats I wear, I was able to define my roles as: Authentic Self, Wife/Partner, Mother, Friend, Business Owner. Each year I pick one role to focus on. In the past several years, I've picked each one except my Authentic Self, which I noticed wasn't even on any of the previous year's lists. How interesting is that? No wonder I struggle with the other roles. How can I take care of anyone else if I'm not taking care of myself? I'm reminded of the instructions from the flight attendant each time I board an airplane. In the event of an emergency, should the oxygen masks drop, we're always instructed to put our mask on first before helping other passengers with theirs. There's a reason for that!
I believe that true commitment to our intentions means putting them "out there". So for me, out there is right here:
- To continue to strengthen my relationship with Christ in all that I do.
- To have a love affair with my Authentic Self.
- To develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- To write and self-publish a book.
- To buy a baby grand piano, and play the hell out of it. :)
- To be a more thoughtful and more focused wife, mother and friend.
- To get and keep my home clutter-free.
- To at least double invoices (and collections) in my business over 2004.
- To get completely out of debt.
- To be a better steward of my finances.
posted by Syd at
8:24 PM
1 Comments:
I'm with you on your procrastination comment! For me, it's about managing my time better and not being lazy! I've plenty of time to get done what needs to be done, but I'm lazy and easily distracted!!
By
Dawn, at 10:20 AM
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