I bet you do something special for your loved ones on Valentine’s Day and even on lots of other days that aren’t “Hallmark Holidays.” So, can I assume that you do special things for yourself on these days too? Because you ARE one of your loved ones, right? Ok, so you’re saying, well…...sorta, yeah. Maybe it’s more likely that you put yourself last.
So, here we are in another new year – how did THAT HAPPEN? Right? The beginning of a new year is a great time to work on our own Clear Vision by creating a vision board. Wouldn’t you like to motivate yourself to reach your goals by visualizing your dreams coming true? All motivation is welcomed by me!!
Do you set goals – like actually sit down and take the time to DO goal planning? Are you someone who gets excited to look over the past year, make notes of your achievements, and make detailed plans for the upcoming year? Yeah, me either. Well, I never used to. I actually began doing basic goal setting the past couple of years. This year I intentionally focused on the two basic goal setting essentials, because I am really feeling a need to get better at 1) planning ahead and 2) recognizing my achievements.
A lot of holidays are associated with gift giving and receiving, and for me, that brings to mind the feeling of having enough. During this time of year, there is a huge focus on stuff - buying stuff to give to others,stuff to decorate our homes, stuff to wear for holiday events, stuff to take to holiday events, stuff to host events, etc. etc. etc. Many of us will be out the night before the holiday, buying more stuff, because it never seems like enough. Can we ever have enough stuff?
The holidays are right around the corner (seriously, time does not stop flying)! When I started thinking about the holidays this year, a sadness came over me. I figured a lot of others were feeling the same way. As I sat down to write this post and looked deeper into these feelings, I realized that the holidays really do bring up a lot of emotions.
I believe – 100% – that it is critical to learn new things all the time. And, learning new things in midlife is something we need to prioritize. We know it’s important to stay mentally sharp, especially as we age, and there are actually tons of reasons why it’s so important.
You know those times when you’re on edge and unable to focus and you either sleep a lot or can’t sleep at all? There are a lot of reasons we might see these things playing out in our lives; one that seems to show up a lot is emotional exhaustion.
Before I started meditating, I wasn’t sure what meditation really was. Like me, you might think it’s new age “woo woo” stuff, sitting on the floor, legs crossed, eyes closed repeating a “mantra” over and over. You may be hearing a lot more about meditation and mindfulness lately and wonder, “Hmm, is there really a meditation practice that would work for me?”
You may have thought that once you got to middle age, life would get a little calmer. Now that we don’t have kids to take care of, follow up with, or transport all over town, things should settle down. But, for many of us, there are other things keeping us busy and adding more stress – aging parents, aging homes, aging bodies. It might be time to find our way to inner calm and continue our pursuit of peace.
Can you remember the last time you actually thought about your achievements or a recent accomplishment? Last week, last month, or last year? Or, shall I rephrase the question – when was the last time you downplayed an accomplishment or minimized a success? Maybe yesterday?