Winter Solstice –Welcoming the light - reflect & review

This winter solstice, I’m delighted to be welcoming the light. The past few months have been a deep dive for me, uncovering new horizons and plumbing the depths for baggage I needed to release. For winter solstice, I’ve been taking some time to reflect and self-evaluate, and I’m offering you the opportunity to the same, right now as a solstice reflection – or as the new year approaches and we begin to look at what lies ahead and what we wish to summon into our lives in 2023.

This is an invite to sit down with a journal and pen, light a candle and taking an honest look at what you’ve achieved, what didn’t go according to plan, what you’ve learned and what plans and dreams you have for the coming year.

See below for this reflective process.

For this exercise, all you need is some quiet time, a candle and a notebook and pen (or a selection of colourful markers for more creativity and fun)

Once you have those things ready, we can begin.

To set the scene, start with a little mind clearing. Ask yourself - let go of the past months/year without recrimination or criticism in my heart and mind?

If you need to, do a dump of all the possible nagging thoughts that might stop you from giving yourself a fresh start…

Make a list of them – I should have, I’ll never, it will never happen etc. etc.

Then tear it up or throw them in the fire. Who needs those thoughts? Not you! If they aren’t helping you move boldly into the future, they’re not welcome to the party! Find some nourishing thoughts to accompany this next stage… How about - I’m ready to embrace the future, I’m growing and learning.. I embrace change etc.

Next, draw a circle and look at the different areas of your life like slices of pie. Include all the different areas that are important to you, for example - relationship/family/children, friends & relatives, work & business, creativity, health & wellbeing, house & home.. etc.. from each of these sections you will have achievements and plans for the future.

No year ever goes to plan in my experience. Tragedies happen, illness happens, uncertainty is always present and tough years come and go. And even from the toughest years there are gems of joy, gems of wisdom and gems of learning waiting to be celebrated.

Now - ask yourself ‘what did I achieve?’

Where one part of your life might have been lacking - another part may have progressed beyond what you imagined – it could be that one of the kids has made some leaps and freed up your energy or that you’ve finally written an application or given energy to a new project There is always some gold to be found if you cast an openhearted eye over the whole year.

You may have spent more time with loved ones and had opportunities to give more attention, grow stronger together or you may have realised that you weren’t thriving in a relationship and made the decision to leave.

Maybe you have more clarity on where to next…

Achievements can be work, education or family related or simple household acts that bring great satisfaction, like buying less unnecessary clothes, recycling more, getting better systems in place for cooking meals and sharing the load, keeping better boundaries and saying NO more, asking for help when needed cycling instead of driving, becoming better at budgeting or planting some salad.

 Once you take a rounded view of the whole year you will notice that you have grown and changed in many ways and each achievement is to be celebrated before moving on. Acknowledge your achievements and and make a list, you can do top 10 or top 20 …the more the merrier!

Next step - Ask yourself, what didn’t go according to plan, what were my disappointments?

It’s important to acknowledge them and give them space, without putting lemon in the wound, without judgement or blame. Acknowledgement can be enough to clear the decks.

When you are ready, the next question to ask yourself is: What did I learn?

These can be practical skills or life lessons, learning happens in many different ways and we often don’t realise how far we’ve come until we take a look back over the last months and consider how we’ve changed and grown - for example -

I learned how to manage my stress better or I was more patient with the kids/partner/parents

I learned that I’m good at multitasking, or I realised I’m better at budgeting than I thought

I learned how to navigate a new task or speak up for myself or manage my relationship with my boss better.

It’s a good idea to spend some time exploring these and seeing how these learnings tie into your past goals and may be useful for what you hope to achieve moving forward. Everything you have learned is compost for the seeds you sow now…

Next, revisit the different areas of your pie and begin to consider each one, moving forward.

Make a loose list of dreams you’d like to see come together in 2023 from the different areas, you can divide it into some for each section or just list them as they come.

Work goals… home goals… family goals…

Then begin to prioritise and create a top ten for yourself so you can see clearly where your focus lies and what will need to be done to get there. It’s helpful to keep the goals realistic and achievable.

You may wish to do this in stages and come back to the larger goals breaking them down into chunks so you can plan realistically for the year ahead. I find it helpful to do a larger vision plan first then break it down into specific goals and plans for each area of my life. the ones that relate to business I will then work on each week/month during my business planning time. The home/garden ones we may discuss as a family and pin up on the fridge.

I’ll often come back to these lists and adjust them over the year. Inevitably, as time passes and life takes it’s unpredictable course, some things come to more prominence and others fade. it’s always interesting to see the shapes that emerge, the opportunities and openings we could never have imagined.

I very much enjoy this process of evaluation and reflection and I hope you enjoy sharing it too...wishing you compassion, clarity and focus in the new light.

x x x Siobhán

‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.’

Goethe