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I don’t know how you felt about 2022 but for a lot of people it was a huge, confronting, button pushing and highly emotional year. It was for me anyway!
It was also an amazing year of growth, evolution, stepping into my power, dismantling energetic blocks and expanding my awareness of what’s possible.
Reflection is a super important piece in my evolution. Going to the next level on my journey is partly about fully processing and understanding where I’ve been so far. It’s only then that I can integrate all the lessons and move forward in an empowered way, and… what’s the word? In a way that’s SEASONED.
Once I’ve imbibed fully of the lessons I’ve been offered so far, then I can step outside my comfort zone and move into expressing the next greatest emanation of my being.
So… that’s what I want to talk about this week – how do you process and reflect upon the year in a way that is useful, helpful and will set you up for success in 2023?
For me it’s about acknowledging wins, taking the lessons learnt, and carrying all that forward in a positive way.
I use a 7 Step Reflection Process for that.
To start, I get a big piece of paper and list out every month in the past year from January through to December. Then I write down the big things that happened. Just bullet points to remember what happened.
Wow… So. Much. Happened.
Once I’ve made some notes on what happened, to jog my memory, then I use a 7 Step process to review it all. So if you want to follow along, here’s how it goes…
STEP #1: REVIEW
What was AWESOME about this year? What were the wins? (Try to list 3 awesome things for each month, and be open minded about what constitutes a “win”).
Also, what if anything, was challenging? And how did you overcome those challenges? How were you able to dodge and weave and be flexible, even when things were tough? Because that’s a win too!
The key thing in this process is to look for how you did well. Even when you encountered the unexpected. This will help you enter 2022 with your confidence up. So, so, so important!
Remember, even if things didn’t entirely pan out in 2022 the way you expected, that’s not a fail. A “fail” only happens when you don’t learn or evolve. So what did you learn? And how is that an awesome thing to have learned?
STEP #2: GRATITUDE
What were you grateful for this year?
Who was there for you?
What amazing experiences did you have?
What amazing feelings did you feel?
How did you support yourself along the way?
STEP #3: COMPASSION
What was challenging for you?
Why was it challenging?
How can you bring some kindness and compassion to yourself with respect to those challenges? I mean, look at what you overcame!
(Allow yourself to feel your feelings about all that stuff. No matter what happened, acknowledge and honor your feelings. Honor your humanity. Without judgment.)
STEP #4: REFLECTION
What did you learn?
What could you have done to make 2021 better?
How did you feel about your life in 2022?
What would you like to do differently in 2023?
STEP #5: LET IT STEEP
Take your time with this process. Reflection is not meant to be rushed.
Allow yourself to steep in these reflections for a bit.
Do some journaling on it.
Keep a notebook with you and jot things down as they come to mind.
STEP #6: ASPIRATION
How can you build upon the lessons of 2022 in a way that will help make 2023 rock?
How do you want to feel in your life in 2023?
What dreams do you want to go after?
What kind of experiences light you up?
What new habits might serve you to be the best version of yourself?
This is not a whole aspirational goal-setting process, we’ll come back to that in January 2023… this is just about planting some seeds and feeling into some ideas. It doesn’t have to be grounded yet… just let these ideas swirl around in the ether and steep in your unconscious.
STEP #7: SURRENDER
Finally, when I’ve done all that, I say a little prayer of sorts.
I thank the universe for guiding me and helping my true potential to unfold.
I express my trust that everything is happening for my highest good, and my belief that the universe has my back, always and in all ways.
I surrender to that. Because I truly believe it.
This part is a very personal thing, though. Figure out what makes sense for you in this final step of surrender. The key is to establish some faith… Faith that the right people, opportunities, teachings and resources will come to you in exactly the right way and at the right time to support you on your journey of continued evolution. Faith that all is well – and even when you can’t see the forest for the trees, that if you just follow your inner wisdom then the path will reveal itself to you.
Trust your inner guidance system. That’s your own personal and spiritual GPS.
I hope this simple reflection process is helpful to you.
In the new year, I’ll share with you some different processes for setting your intentions for the coming year, for goal setting and for manifesting your dreams. My blog posts in January 2023 are going to be all about setting yourself up for your best year ever! But really, it all starts now… with this 2022 reflection process.
So fire up that pen and let the ruminations begin!
To YOUR Abundance,
Julie Ann Cairns
