As we approach the final days of 2021, I invite you to step back and consider what meaning (if any) you want this transition of years to hold for you.
Years, months, weeks, days, hours; these are all milestones we use to structure our time. Structuring our time helps us to make sense of our time and our reality, which in turn helps us to use our time in ways that feel purposeful and driven by larger goals and intentions.
Perhaps, at the dawn of 2021, you had hopes for what this year would look like. Maybe you had ideas of what you wanted to feel, people you wanted to see, things you wanted to accomplish. A list of New Year’s resolutions might’ve beckoned you forward into January. Hopes of the pandemic releasing its grasp on us might have breathed renewed possibility as you looked at the turn of the year.
We use time structures to help us stay anchored in reality, but also to assess and adjust patterns and paths we've begun pursue on autopilot. We can use these structures to reflect and set intentions for how we want to move forward.
Reflecting on 2021
Wherever you were at the beginning of 2021, I invite you to think back over the expanse of time from there to here. I find this transition to a new year can be a useful space to reflect on what has held importance. What feelings, accomplishments, griefs, laughs, failures, fears, and joys stand out over these months? Which moments feel most meaningful as you reflect back with hindsight’s wisdom?
And, where are you now? What do you need? What do you hope for?
How have you arrived to where you are now through what has happened (or not happened) this year?
What have you learned?
What have you gained?
What have you let go of?
Loads of questions, I know. I’m hoping that one or two of them might spark some interest, some inner intrigue that opens up a space of reflection for you.
We use time structures to help us stay anchored in reality, but also to assess and adjust patterns and paths we’ve begun pursue on autopilot. We can use these structures to reflect and set intentions for how we want to move forward.
If all these questions have overwhelmed you (first, thanks for sticking with me and continuing to read), I offer you just one question.
What do you want more of in 2022?
Think feelings, people, places, things. There is no limit. There are no wrong answers. You don’t need to share this with anyone (but feel free to if you’d like!).
Set a timer for five minutes (keep it small, keep it simple, but please, do give it a try).
If it is useful to you, I encourage you to pull any and all of these questions into a journal, a piece of paper, a whiteboard, a digital document. Invest some time responding to these questions and see what comes up for you.
You know where to find me if you’d like more guidance and support to use these reflections to carry you into the new year. And, in the meantime, I’ll be wishing you grace, kindness, and peace today and in the year to come.
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