Happy New Year to each of you. I have so much gratitude and appreciation for your support during 2016 as I transitioned from working within a government system to launching my private practice (online and office).
The end of 2016 brought much personal reflection – perhaps even more than usual. On New Years morning (January 01) I began to make my traditional morning mimosa toast with dear friends who were visiting; As I began speaking my eyes quickly welled up with tears for the emotions that the end of 2016 had suddenly brought up for me. This was most definitely my shortest toast ever!! I had not been anticipating this teary moment since I have loved the experiences that I have had in 2016, the learning and the new and old acquaintances that I have encountered.
Yet I have learned that my body does not lie and the emotions I felt inside me, as I began to give the toast, were real. Upon reflection I felt a letting go – a letting go of all the FEAR & worries that I had experienced in 2016. This New Day and New Year felt like a New Beginning and it was time for me to let go of 2016.
You see, starting my business, although exciting and doing what I want to be doing with my career, did not come without FEAR and worries.
FEAR at doing something different – as 2016 was the first year since 1994 that I was not working within a government agency;
FEAR of failure;
FEAR of who I would be without my government position as I had connected much of who I am with what I did and I did not always see the separation that I am not my position/my job;
FEAR of being judged, what will people think? What if I disappoint people?
Yet over the past year this FEAR also provided me with:
– opportunities to practice being MINDFUL of my emotions, acknowledging and noticing these emotions, rather than judging myself harshly for having worries and fears about this change;
– recognition that I could choose to be COMPASSIONATE with myself for all that I was experiencing so that I could begin to move towards CREATING a life that I felt was in alignment with how I want to live;
– As I practiced mindfulness, self compassion and noticing what thoughts were helping me move towards the life I wanted and what thoughts were moving me away from this life I slowly began connecting that these techniques were helping me to live my life with COURAGE. All of this was helping me to release and move away from the FEAR and worries that I had rather than getting “stuck” in the FEAR .
So I believe those tears on New Years Day were one more sign of moving forward from FEAR and stepping fully into living with COMPASSION and COURAGE.
Today as I start my first day back to work in 2017 these 3 words
COMPASSION, COURAGE, CREATE are with me and I’m choosing to keep remembering that in 2017 I can allow self COMPASSION to guide me as I continue CREATING and living COURAGEOUSLY.
If you are interested in learning more about self compassion, courage, mindfulness please email me @ [email protected]
If you have chosen a word or words for your 2017 and would like to share please post in the comment section! I’d love to hear from you.
Sending you much Love for 2017
In Gratitude & Love,
Heidi
