A LOT has happened this year! While most of you are well aware of these big events thanks to Facebook, I thought I’d do a quick recap:
√ Built a house in New Orleans (from 1300 miles away)
√ Climbed North Palisades, CA as a fundraiser climb for Big City Mountaineers (Nat)
√ Crushed the New Hampshire 70.3 Half Ironman (Matt)
√ Planned a wedding and got married!
√ Built a coaching business and passed certification
√ Traveled more days than is healthy to acknowledge, mostly to NOLA. We did manage to squeeze in some awesome trips like seeing Phish at The Gorge and going to Rome this Thanksgiving.
But there is so much more that happens each year that doesn’t get posted on Facebook. And often these moments are the most meaningful of the year, even if we don’t realize it at the time. These are the moments we can’t capture in pictures; and just listing accomplishments/events can’t tell the whole story of experience. So I wanted to share a few of these moments…
- Seeing my girlfriends, who never met each other over the years, come together as if they had known each other their entire life, to support and love each other as I love each of them.
- Creating an experience, beyond just a party, where everyone felt welcome and loved by everyone in attendance and had a blast!
- Believing in myself, finding strength, and learning a valuable lesson about putting FEAR in the seat next to me, and NOT in the driver’s seat where it often wants to be.
- Feeling Matt’s love and support as he calms me at the peak of my stress, about to lose my sh*t and any composure. Learning my lesson to take preventative steps to avoid reaching the meltdown point.
- Finally getting the courage to truly let go of an unhealthy relationship (and the hope I was carrying), and to face the fact that there is nothing I can do to change the past or control the future when it comes to others. This was a difficult lesson – that not all things are fixable, and sometimes you just need to mourn the loss and move forward.
- Witnessing Matt fully mourn the loss of his best friend.
I encourage you to do your own self-reflection on 2016 to help set yourself up for a meaningful and successful 2017. Here are some questions to help guide you in that reflection.
1. What did I do, create, or experience this year that I’m really proud of?
We’re so critical of ourselves and often feel we didn’t do enough. Go through your calendar, pictures on your phone, or chat with loved ones to mine the gold nuggets. Then celebrate and be proud!
2. What mistakes did I make that taught me something? What lessons did I learn that I can leverage?
Uggghhhh, FAILURE! Regardless if we know failure is necessary to learn and succeed, it doesn’t mean it sucks any less or is any less painful when it happens! It’s hard to see the lessons when we are still reeling in the pain. Then often as soon as the pain dulls we want to try and forget the experience as soon as possible saying we just “want to move forward.” Then we lose the opportunity to really learn from our mistakes (which means we are bound to repeat them). To learn the lessons, we need to dig for them. Something easier to do after some time and distance. So go back and dig deep, the lessons are in there!
3. What am I willing to let go of?
Do you have projects or commitments that have been hanging over your head? Maybe its time to drop them because they aren’t that important, don’t align with your values, or simply drain too much life- energy from you. Stop “shoulding” on yourself and let it go!
Is there a story you’re telling yourself that no longer serves you? What are you telling yourself that’s holding you back? What hurts, shames, or embarrasses you that you keep reliving that you want to let go of?
I’d love to hear your 2016 reflections and what you have in store for 2017! Also, if you want help setting goals that align with your values and what you really want or a partner to obtain them, reach out. I’d love to help.
Here are a few visuals of the moments that made my past year amazing…
