The Untapped Power and potential of Starting with a Brand New Shiny Year!

I wanted to send one last message for 2017. I find there is a certain type of ceremony to New Year's Eve. It’s one of those rare moments when everyone on the planet is anticipating the exact same thing. Many of us turn inward a little more at this time, to reflect on the past year and our lives. Many take a somewhat philosophical approach to reviewing their year and lives no matter how big or small, and some begin feeling the pressure of planning and setting the tone for the year ahead.  

If you are like me you have probably spent at least a couple hours lost in thought about how to make 2018 an even better year than the one that is quickly coming to a close. To me, this is literally one of the most exciting and invigorating times of the year because it is a formal reset, not just for you but for every single person, near and far. This is the one point in the year when everyone has the exact same opportunity to literally reset all the markers in your life, yes all of them, if you choose to do so.

For me personally, I find this time of the year literally forces me to reflect on several questions that I typically don’t make the time to think about throughout the year and that is why this is such an exciting time of the year. Here is a list of some of the questions (and this is the short-list) I find myself deeply thinking about this time of year….

• How did I get to this place in my life? What specifically brought me to this point? Am I pleased about this?

• What is most important to me right now and how did that come to be for me? What changed for me?

• Am I closer to my full potential now than when 2017 was just starting? How can I continue to grow?

• What is holding me back or limiting me from doing more, having more, and being more? (a small side note here. This is probably the most puzzling question for all of us to address because it requires complete and total honesty and transparency. Two things most people find very difficult to adopt, especially for themselves).

•  Am I really doing what I really want to be doing? Be completely honest here as this can be the critical opportunity moment to change the trajectory of your year, your career, your relationships, and your life. If you are not doing what you really want to be doing, think about what you can start to do to begin moving you towards that direction. 

• Who have I become this past year? Do I like who I see? How can I improve me to better serve others?

•  Am I working on something important or am I just working? 

• Do I bring happiness and inspiration to those I meet along the way?

 As I said this is the short-list. The questions are challenging and sometimes the answers are… well in the spirit of total honesty… the answers are sometimes brutal and painful. Yet, every year as I move through the process and give myself fully to the work required, I find each year opens up in ways I could never have planned.

I want to leave you with one last thought, the end of the year can be thought of as a gift of renewal. A new opportunity to self-correct, to challenge yourself to greatness. It is the next chapter on your journey and you should make it memorable.

Happy new year, and I look forward to the opportunity of helping you pursue becoming an even better version of you in 2018!

Dr Richard