Written by: Elissa Kennedy, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The new year is an exciting time to make positive changes in your life or business. As you contemplate what you want to create in the coming year, consider this, only a small percentage of people actually follow through with their new year resolutions.
There is a better way to set yourself up for success in the new year. Whether you make resolutions, set goals, or create a vision for your new year, these end-of-the-year rituals are essential to activate your vision. Follow these steps before you decide what you want to create for this coming year and you’ll be one of the few people that keep your resolutions and create more success in 2022.
Use These Simple Rituals to Release 2021 and Prepare Your Mind to Activate Your Vision
You can use these exercises to make changes in your personal life or your business. Since many entrepreneurs have overlap between personal life and business you may have elements of both in your vision.
1. Reflect on the year and celebrate all of your accomplishments (no matter how small)
While recalling your past year, focus solely on your successes. Think back to a year ago. Where were you in your life, in your business, in your mindset, and in your relationships?
Try this exercise Set the mood: get a warm cup of tea, play your favorite music, and get cozy with a notebook in hand.
Review your year month-by-month, in quarters, or by different events. Whatever feels most helpful. Write down every little accomplishment you can think of to celebrate.
What are your top three accomplishments? What can you do to celebrate them?
Focusing on your wins activates positive emotions. Feeling good about your accomplishments will make your new goals seem more possible.
2. Discover the gifts from challenging situations
Life is full of challenges and sometimes it can feel that you have more than your fair share. It can be difficult to see past the tough stuff. But, challenges can also bring you gifts that you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Take a few moments to remember situations that were challenging, but ultimately led you to a better outcome. Perhaps you lost your job, which led to building your own business doing something you love. Or you had a health scare that gave you a newfound gratitude for your life.
Try this exercise Fold a piece of paper in half longways. On the left side list some difficult situations from the past year. On the right side write down the gifts that came from those challenges. If you can’t see the gift yet, instead imagine a potential gift. Now focus on how your life (or business) will become better because of these gifts. Make a note of at least two gifts and focus on the positive outcome.
When you focus on the gifts, you activate the inner sage mind that can lead you to be more innovative and visionary about the future.
3. Notice your personal growth from 2021
Make a list of all the personal improvements you made over the past year.
Try this exercise Answer these questions to help you capture a detailed list of your personal growth from 2021.
What has changed in your mindset?
What new skills have you learned?
What big leaps forward did you take?
In what ways did you step out of your comfort zone?
What’s different about you since the beginning of the year?
What have you accomplished in your personal growth?
How have your relationships changed?
How has your health improved?
How has your self-talk improved?
How has your approach to life or business changed over this past year?
Create something that honors all of the efforts you have made. Perhaps the list becomes a colorful piece of art to hang near your desk as a reminder of what you are capable of achieving.
4. Radiating gratitude as a way to move forward
When you focus on gratitude you tap into something really powerful within yourself. The practice of gratitude has been shown to improve mindset and create a more positive outlook. People that practice gratitude report feeling happier even when their situation hasn’t changed. Your mindset will shift from one of scarcity to abundance.
Try this exercise Review the previous exercises and focus on feelings of deep gratitude for all the events and moments that made up this past year.
Close your eyes and imagine some joyful moments from the year and expand your feeling of gratitude until you feel it throughout your whole body.
Create a top 10 gratitude list and keep it in a place that you can read every day. This will reinforce your inspiration and positive emotions to activate your new year vision.
5. Decide what to release and what to bring forward
This last step is important as you move forward. List any goals from this past year that you didn’t accomplish. Without judgment, consider why you didn’t reach your goal. Perhaps it wasn’t a goal you truly wanted or maybe you need more time to reach that goal.
Try this exercise Write down your past goals on a piece of paper. Look at each one and decide if this is still important to you. Do you want to bring it forward into the new year or do you want to let it go?
If you are bringing it forward, you must attach it to a bigger purpose to be more successful. Decide why this goal is important to you. The purpose of the goal will act as the fuel to move you towards accomplishing it.
If the goal isn’t important then release it without judgment. It simply wasn’t in alignment and there is no shame in crossing it off your list. What can you learn about yourself by letting it go?
Move your final list of goals to a new piece of paper and add it to your list for 2022. Now you’re ready to move on to the final exercises.
Activate Your New Year Vision For 2022
These steps will uncover and bring clarity to your vision. Establish a quiet place to sit with these exercises, calm your mind, and allow any expansive thoughts to show up. This isn’t the time to apply logic or worry about how to do something. Instead, play with the idea that anything is possible and let your ideas flow freely.
1. Word Map Set a timer for 2 minutes. Write any words that feel inspirational, exciting, expansive or that describe your values and deep desires. Fill in the whole page. Make it colorful and messy. Then look at your word map and notice anything that feels surprising. Try to discover what is behind that word for you. Move on to other words that jump out at you.
Journal about anything that inspires you towards creating your vision. Perhaps you capture a word to use to guide you this year or you find a bigger piece of the puzzle for your vision.
2. Perfect Day Imagine your most perfect day. If you were directing a scene about your perfect day, what would that look like? Write every detail, describe where you live, how you live, the work you do, the people you are surrounded by, the temperature of the air, the clothes you are wearing, who you help with your work, and how you make a positive impact on the world.
Reflecting on this perfect day, what can you add to your vision for 2022?
3. Magic Wand I’m waving my magic wand and you are suddenly at the end of 2022. You’re excited to tell me all about the fabulous year you’ve had. Write a letter describing everything you’ve accomplished in your best year ever.
4. Now activate the vision Combine the three exercises into a vision statement for this coming year. Create a reminder to keep on your desktop or near your workspace to help you stay motivated and inspired to keep going even when challenges come along.
Create a new list of goals you want to accomplish this year. Anchor those goals with a bigger purpose to tie them to your deeper desires about why this goal matters.
Take embodied action steps towards your goals. When you set your goal, think of something you can do right now to take one step towards that goal. For example, if you dream of standing on a stage giving a keynote speech. Buy the clothes that you want to wear for that event and wear them while you practice speaking to your imaginary audience.
Create a daily vision practice to imagine your perfect day. Each morning imagine expanding your vision further. A vision will help you create a ripple effect of positive change in the world. Imagine what would be different if you could see beyond your limitations and instead live in a world full of possibilities.
Enjoy an amazing year in your life and your business! I would love to hear what you discover. Reach out and let me know!
If you need help activating your vision for 2022, join my FREE workshop for women, The Intuitive Soul Awakening starting on December 29th. Get the details here.
Elissa Kennedy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Elissa is a certified holistic life coach who helps women awaken their visionary mindset. By activating your visionary mindset you are able to connect to your true self and to your life’s purpose.
‘Vision Activation’, her 4-month step-by-step proprietary program, begins with a visionary mindset training, empowering you to navigate challenges with a more positive outlook and opening you up to new possibilities and a sense of inner calm.
Her coaching style is compassionate, playful and curious, includes guided visualizations and a sprinkle of magic. She uses holistic and intuitive approaches to change old patterns, creating new pathways for yourself as you begin a new chapter of life.
Elissa believes women thrive by connecting to their intuition, establishing a support system, and belonging to a community. By facilitating programs, workshops, and retreats, she creates a safe space for women to gather, learn and grow.
