Hello friends, 2023 is here and happening right now,  so let me start by wishing each and every one of you a year full of everything you desire in life - happiness, health, and beautiful experiences.

I’m wondering how you have spent the first few days of 2023 – have you set yourself a new year’s resolution or two? Have you already been struggling with the urge to finish off the last pieces of Christmas cake rather than stick to your resolution to lose some weight this year? Or may you are trying Veganuary, dry January, or trying out a new fitness regime.

Whatever it is that you are doing, I’d like you to cast your mind back to this time last year, or the year before, or even the one before that. Is there a pattern emerging? Fantastic and well done to those of you who have managed to stick to and reach the goals you set for yourself, but if you are anything like me there will be a pattern of disappointment; of not feeling good enough, and the urge to give up before the end of January even arrives.

I’ve been wondering what a gentler approach to January might look like and more importantly feel like.  What would happen if I didn’t go charging into 2023 with a desire to conquer all those things that I want to achieve and instead take a slower more deliberate approach, based on quiet kindness and self-care?

The strapline for my web page is “life is about finding your balance, come along the journey with me” – so true to this, why not take things a little slower and be a little more thoughtful and deliberate in choosing what is important for you to achieve this year and set yourself some firm foundations upon which to build.

Here is my three-step plan:

1. A person that I really admire recently shared the following questions which I am planning on working through during the first week of January; I think  they are really powerful and grounding:

a.    What have I enjoyed the most about last year?

b.    What has been less fun but still good for me to have done?

c.     What or who helped me to achieve what I did last year?

d.    What successes will I be celebrating in 6 or 12 months’ time?

e.     And beyond?

f.       How can I be more me?

g.    How can I get out of my own way?

2. Then I plan to spend some quiet time with my thoughts and write them down.  If you prefer, talk through them with someone you trust and really talk about your achievements last year.  You will have done some amazing things I’m sure, as did I and sometimes we can forget those when we are wrapped up in setting our intentions for the coming year.

3. Create an action or vision board – I’ve always been a fan of vision boards but this has been further cemented this year through reading The Source, by Dr. Tara Swart – see my book review here.  Dr. Swart give the following really important pointers that have ensured I put much more thought into this than I may have previously:

a.    Don’t rush it – step back and coach yourself through the process, this means really thinking deeply about what you want to manifest for the year ahead.

b.    Only use images on your vision board and possibly minimal numbers (for manifesting what you desire – perhaps related to income or savings, etc) but definitely no words.  Previously, I have often used words and in retrospect, they create quite an unthoughtful vision board, by that I mean there is no deeper connection behind the words. I’ve definitely created a beautiful and thoughtful process this time around.

c.     Find one or more metaphorical representations of what you want to achieve. Dr. Swart states that metaphors are very powerful ways of connecting your unconscious and conscious brain to what you aspire to, for example, I knew I wanted my vision board to represent the word ‘strong’ and many of my images represent strength, in particular my image of an elephant.  For me, elephants are strong, loyal, kind, protective, and incredibly thoughtful and intuitive animals.

d.    Collect your images – lay them out on a sheet of paper and leave them for a day. 

e.     Come back the next day and do another deep dive into what the images represent.  Ask yourself; is this what I really want? Have I asked for what I deserve? And is there anything else I desire? I did this, and the next day when I took another look at the images, I cast some aside and added others.

f.       Once you’ve done those steps you can get your glue out and create the vision for your 2023 goals and desires.

Happy vision boarding everyone –I’d love to see yours too, so why not share them with me on social media?

Using those reflective questions about, I have thought about the last twelve months and how I started with the accidental discovery on YouTube of Ali Abdaal, who really got me thinking about what I wanted to achieve and more importantly how to go about it.  He cited a book called ‘Show Your Work’ by Austen Kleon which gave me the courage to set up and start my website.

The website then took 5 months to plan and create, and it challenged my technical skills, as I did this myself using Squarespace website builder. I also had to spend a lot of time on what the purpose was, what space did I want to create, and who for. And so by June 2022, the website was ready.

After this, I visited my friend Susie Edwards, who is a coach and leadership expert – you can see her work here and we spend two days planning out my vision for the rest of the year and beyond. I am very thankful for the time spent with Susie.

This week I have used the plan to reflect on what I have achieved and plan for next year too - see the photo below. 

I’ve also splashed out on a planner for the year which is going to keep me on track with my website aspirations and health and well-being goals too.

Just a few of my planning photos this week

Quote of the Week

Question of the Week

I would love to hear about your goals and aspirations for the coming year, please do leave me a comment.

Bye for now. Jackie