Cast a vision for 2021
Here we are.
We’re on the cusp of a new year and ready to cast a vision for a better future.
For many of us, exhausted and overextended from a very hard year, we need to make some space first. To let go of the plans and disappointments of 2020. Of the fear, anxiety, and loss we experienced. Let’s acknowledge the darkness, demands, and difficult moments. Breathe in, feel it all, and then let it go with a big exhale.
My friend Claire Parsons and I hosted a vision exercise and guided meditation for MothersEsquire on Facebook Live last night. I shared a roadmap to help cast a vision for 2021. One that will motivate you to take action. And Claire’s guided meditation helps make the mental and emotional space for it all, by letting go of what we no longer need.
We invited participants to come as they are, in the middle of whatever the last 30 hours of 2020 brings. And boy, that can be a lot. Mid-bedtime, multi-tasking with work, folding laundry, trying to get a grip on what we have experienced these past 10 months. But all the dumpster fire jokes aside, we have an opportunity to start something really special.
How do we create a vision for 2021?
Start right where we are.
I created a workbook to help along the way. Let’s not recreate the 2020 we wish we’d had, but look honestly at where we are right now.
Here’s your roadmap to a better new year:
Start right where you are. Reflect on how you’re feeling and what you need in this moment.
Write your story for 2020. “2020 was the year I…” Notice what you’d like to keep and what you’d like to let go of.
Address your immediate needs. Choose 1 thing to do to take care of yourself before you start something new in 2021.
Cast a vision. How do you want to feel in 2021? What can you start, do, create, change in order to feel that way this year? Looking at your starting place, consider the leaps and tweaks to get there.
Examine your relationships. Invite in the people and influences who make you feel good.
Select one image for your 2021 vision to rest on. Keep coming back to that and help it grow.
Using the workbook as your guide, write down one critical thing you can do to care for yourself, restore yourself, refresh yourself, rejuvenate yourself, before you tackle anything else for 2021. Be willing to let go of something and make space for that renewal.
In the guided meditation with Claire, you’ll have an opportunity to revisit this idea and practice acceptance, gratitude, and letting go of the last year. For now, notice any places where you might be holding on to expectations, disappointment, or fear in 2020. Be willing to let it go to make space for new things.
With your basic needs met and a foundation of self-care in place, we’re ready to build a framework for 2021.
Ask yourself, how do I want to feel in the new year? What could be the best possible version of me and my life? What areas could you innovate, reinvent, be more creative, be radical?
Relationships are a big one this year because we’ve felt isolated and disconnected. As you think about who you want to reconnect with this year, ask yourself who are the people who inspire, motivate, energize, and cherish you? Are they the ones you are surrounding yourself with? You are allowed to be selective with who and what you invite back into your life. If you’re missing someone in particular, sending them some extra love and attention will help you refocus on the relationships that matter.
What we pay attention to grows. What we invest in grows. When we focus our mind on something, we notice more opportunities for it. What you imagine is possible. What you think about becomes your reality.
The new year is coming, but you can take your time. You can be selective. You can go slow, replenish your energy, and feel rejuvenated. As one of my favorite mantras always assures me, “nothing worthwhile is lost by taking time.”
When you are ready to dig in, you can find all of these prompts in the workbook at www.essentiallychip.com/vision. The recording of our special event and guided meditation are available at Claire’s blog.
Of course, I’d love to chat about any of these prompts or just talk through some of your ideas for 2021. Schedule a time for a call at www.calendly.com/essentiallychip.
Cheers, friends, and I’m cheering for you!