Cheers! You've arrived...
One of my favorite pockets of time throughout the entire year is the week between Christmas and New Years. I try my damndest to carve out some “deep work” time as I call it—time to clear the space, reconnect to presence after all the going and indulging, and map out a vision for the coming year. My inner dreamer gets to dance around and color outside the lines a bit. If I’m lucky, I try to take a whole morning or afternoon to do so.
This year was a no-go. It just didn’t happen—and that’s okay. I’m learning to give myself more grace and soften into life’s messy edges.
However, in the spirit of community, I’d like to do this deep work—this dreaming if you will—together, and ease into new year.
If you’ve been on this self-discovery journey with me for awhile, you may know I’m a huge fan of ritual rather than resolutions. If you’re new to my blog and this glorious work of deepening self-awareness and transformation, welcome. You are right on time and I can’t wait to connect with you.
Here’s why I have a thing for ritual. I’m convinced, over time, practicing good habits creates this soft light in our lives that draws out potential, undergirds desire, and creates balance where there is imbalance. They are also built on loving connection with self as opposed to fear-based tactics.
Interestingly, I think humans find extremes far easier than balance. We like to react out of fear instead of respond out of desire. Marketing moguls exploit this behavior big time, and anyway you slice it, they’re clever. They know we go off the rails a bit over the holidays and tend to wake up today with a foggy head and a few extra pounds. Swooping in, they save the day with their slashed gym membership prices and programs promising a new you in just one month.
Listen, If you’ve just given Gwyneth Paltrow a run for her money and spent all of yours on the hottest new cleanse, that’s okay too. I get it. Been there and have all the tee shirts and half-used supplement boxes to prove it.
Yet with each passing year, as I show up for myself and my community, I’m learning something invaluable: what we really want is to create a feeling, not just a desired outcome. As a result, this is why we’re rarely satisfied with any level of success or accomplishment—the feeling fades. We want more.
Today, let’s lay some groundwork for the edits, habits, and goals you’d like to see crystalize in 2024. Here are four crucial questions to help you do so.
I hope you’ll join me and carve out some well-deserved time to journal about the picture you’d like to build in 2024. Come back to it over and over again. Realign with its truth or tweak it if your course requires deviation.
Here we go:
What do you want to feel more of in 2024? (i.e. energized, awake, confident, accepted)
Where do you want to go in 2024? (This can be figurative or literal. i.e. I want to explore a new city, yoga class, or I want to go from full-time to part-time at work so I can spend more time writing)
What do you want to learn in 2024? (i.e. I want to learn to play drums or I want to learn to meditate)
What do you want to change in 2024? (Reminder: this is desire driven, NOT fear driven! Approach this from a place of worthiness rather than insecurity. i.e. I’d like to build in more margin for rest and play into my life.)
I can’t wait to hear your feedback from this exercise. When we give voice and ink to our desires, we take them from whim to intention. Let’s ease into the new year, listening, noticing, and responding to its inviting call to action. If you’d like some extra light for the journey ahead, I’m your girl.
I can’t wait to see all that 2024 has in store for you.
Cheers, indeed! You’ve arrived.