Just for You

You've given of yourself to everyone else this season, now it is time indulge in a gift just for you. This gift to yourself can be a powerful tool to bring intention into your life. Set aside a few uninterrupted moments of quiet and reflection to complete this exercise.

Step One:

Reflecting on 2013, consider the following areas of your life: personal life/spiritual development; romance/intimacy; wellness/self-care; finances; career/business; physical environment; social life/fun;

list your wins, successes and breakthroughs;

list your "losses", disappointments and breakdowns. Now set these aside - they are part of your past.

Step Two:

Choose 5-7 lessons you have learned this year that you would like to take with you into 2014. When you decide which lessons to include, remember that these are lessons that you will use consciously in the new year.

Step Three:

Now imagine that it is December of 2014. Make a list of your wins, successes and breakthroughs. Be specific, and write them as though they have already happened. Make the list as long as you like.

Consider combining this exercise with a "vision board" - this can take the form of a story, a collage or a sketch - however you are comfortable expressing yourself. The vision board is for your eyes only - so feel free to create whatever feels right (hint: keep it simple, focused - too much clutter can obscure your vision!).

Which wins, successes or breakthrough resonate for you?

Which ones create a flutter? Excitement?

Which ones can you, in an intentional way, create in the coming year?

***

“We are the authors of our destinies. No one can see the vision any clearer, believe in and work any harder to make it a reality more than the visionary.” ~ Nike Campbell-Fatoki

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Halona Patrick Shaw, LCSW, JD
Board Certified Life Coach
Eyes Turned Skyward, Inc.
halona@eyesturnedskywardcoaching.com
 ph/text (917) 846-7784

Gratitude, Even On the Bench

Last Monday started out like any other boot camp day. I arose at 5 AM, got dressed, had a quick protein shake, and made my way to class. I got set up with my mat and weights, and started warming up with the class.

The third exercise in that morning's circuit involved a jumping front kick, reminiscent of my kickboxing days. I did the combo three times, when I felt a pop in my right calf.

I have felt that same pop before, last summer, when I tore my left calf muscle chasing my then two year old at the church picnic. I stopped what I was doing, and the thoughts started to flood my mind. Things like: "seriously??" and "this can't be happening again."

But I knew exactly what I had done, so I gathered my things, and limped out to my car. I sat down and started to cry. For a brief moment, I cussed the devil. Then I gathered myself and launched an out-loud expression of gratitude (anyone paying attention might have questioned my stability). I began to call out, through tears, the things for which I was grateful at that moment: I woke up this morning, even in the dark; I could feel the chill when I walked to and from the car; I could FEEL pain (read: I was alive); I was wearing a new pair of yoga pants (which I loved, and they looked good, as I was beginning to get more toned).

The list could, and did, go on. I have had moments of melancholy, but they are short lived. I know that there are many blessings, even in this latest injury, both seen and unseen. More are yet to be revealed.

I have a Grade 2 calf tear (another thing for which I am grateful - last year was Grade 3, which is more severe). I am benched for 4-6 weeks, per my orthopedic surgeon this morning. I begin physical therapy this week. As for boot camp, it will be mid-January before I can resume.

I'm thinking about a daily plank/push-up challenge in the meantime - something that can work my upper body and core, but give my leg a much-needed rest to heal.

Who's with me??

***

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Halona Patrick Shaw, LCSW, JD
Board Certified Life Coach
Eyes Turned Skyward, Inc.

halona@eyesturnedskywardcoaching.com
 ph/text (917) 846-7784