Una's Blog

18
Dec

65 Time to reflect and dream

graphic-1by Una Hearne.

It is my practice between Christmas and new year to take a few days out just for myself. No work, no socialising. Just quiet reflective time.

I reflect on the past year, where I’m at and what I want next year. It’s one of my favourite times of the year.

We often only check in with ourselves and take stock of our lives when something goes wrong or we are unhappy with the situation we are in. That’s fair enough, but it actually makes more sense to check in occasionally when things are going great. Think about it, you have more energy and are in a better frame of mind, you can appreciate what you have and build on it far more easily than when you are in a bad place and struggling. Of course the most important thing is that you check in with yourself sometimes, not when.

Here are 3 really simple questions I ask myself in my annual reflection time, you might find them useful:

  1. What are the top 3 things that didn’t work out, went wrong or were complete disasters last year? What did I learn? What did it remind me? What did I gain? Who was there for me?
  2. What are the top 3 things that were fabulous and made me feel like the luckiest person/ happiest person on earth? What am I grateful for? Who am I grateful to have in my life?
  3. What are the top 3 things that I want for myself for next year?

Do whatever you need to do to get into a place of total honesty, truthfulness and trust with yourself and just write your truth. It’s a delightful practice which has real effects on you and your life. It marks the transition from one year to the next with hope and gratitude.

Now, I don’t want to alarm anyone unnecessarily but I do practice what I preach. Over the past decade or so of my own personal development journey I have become a happier, fulfilled and more relaxed person. I make life choices consciously, from my heart. I find it increasingly difficult each year to identify any answers for question 1 and I have a ton of answers for question 2. In fact, more often now the things I would have seen as disasters or failures end up as answers for question 2 because of what I gained and where I ended up. For question 3 I pick the top three things I want to focus on and set intentions for them.

I am not living in a fairy tale, I have all the normal life challenges and difficulties. The difference is I am enjoying the journey now, all of it. That is not something I could have said before my mid thirties.

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Comment

  1. Ava
    18/12/2014 at 8:29 pm Reply

    Fabulous wisdom! Mm reflecting in the positives always makes me feel as though I have the healthiest lil soul.

    • Una
      18/12/2014 at 8:39 pm Reply

      Thanks Ava, if you feel it it’s true! 🙂

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