What a year it has been. More importantly, what a decade it has been!  

As I have been reflecting on the past 10 years, I seriously can’t believe all of the changes, setbacks then progression and learning that has happened.  I lost my mother in 2014, two of my children went off to college with one already graduated, I became a 500hr Certified Yoga Teacher, did many public speaking engagements (no frick’in way would I have believed that 20 years ago), grew and rebranded my business, and the list goes on.

There are times when I look back and want to change the past and times when I want it to stay the same. Both of these notions do not involve enlightened progress, because I know that life is about allowing ourselves to evolve in ways that will invite magical opportunities that we can never predict.  For example, my oldest son, Drew, is off to record vocals in a metal band in Sweden and my middle son, Connor, is in Barcelona to study abroad for the semester, they both left yesterday.   My heart is bursting with excitement for them and at the same time, I am filled with sadness and want them all to be sleeping soundly in their childhood bedrooms.  How could I ever imagined (or allowed) these amazing life experiences for them if I always tried to control the past? 

“The life in front of you is far more important than the life behind you.” – Joel Osteen 

To look back with honor for the life I have created and the mistakes I have learned from so that I can be wiser and embrace the incredible opportunities that are right in front of me, or yet to come, is my intention for this new year.  

I have 3 steps for you to reflect, honor, and put forth intentions towards the new year.  I did this and was so surprised by my accomplishments and filled with pride at my strength in all that I had to overcome.

3 Steps for an intentionally amazing new decade:

1. Take 5 – 10 minutes to tune out external distractions so that you can contemplate and listen to what your truest, deepest self is telling you. Sit comfortably in a quiet space and breath 10 deep diaphragmatic breaths to calm the mind and begin the process of tapping into a reflection of memories and the creation of dreams and wishes. After the 10 breaths, ask these questions to yourself without answering them. The best answers are when they come without pressure or grasping, just allowing them to circulate and invite curiosity.

• Who am I?
• What do I want?
• How can I serve?
• What am I grateful for?

2. (These next steps will require a journal/paper and pen or pencil (maybe colorful pens if your creative 😉 Contemplate and write on these 2 questions for a Decade in Review:

• What am I most proud of this last decade? Major changes, things you have overcome, things you have achieved, ways that you have been creative or productive, people or experiences that have provided special moments, things that may have surprised you about yourself, etc. Write down as many things as you can think of and don’t worry about priority or significance. Then, Pick 3 things from your list that really stand out to you. Write WHY these were so important.
• What were the biggest things I’ve learned and why? (Write these on a separate page) I found this to be so eye-opening! For example, I wrote “It is a must to share my gifts, my soul depends on this. ~ Dharma (purpose)

3. What do I want for myself in the next decade? What do you want your future to look like? Who do you want in it with you? How are you using your creative strengths? If you could be in line with what is important to you, what would you be doing more of? How can you be courageous and elevate your work, game, relationships, etc? Do you have something you have been too busy or too inhibited to do that makes your heart happy?

Please write down absolutely anything, regardless of means or realism. Seriously, even the most outrageous things you can imagine are on the table. I want to be the yoga teacher for the Bucks or the Packers! You never know!

Use these questions as tools to propel you to move forward so that you can create, learn and align yourself with all of the possibilities that are waiting for you in this New Year!