It’s officially the first week of 2017! It’s taken a week, but I think I’ve finally been able to digest the coming of 2017 and going of 2016.  Once of my favourite things about New Years (besides the streamers, fireworks, and champagne of course) is the ability to stop and reflect on the past lessons of the year.  As a society, we tend to switch our focus onto the bright and shiny (like what to “resolve” to fix in the new year).  Many times we neglect to stop and think and reflect on the challenges and triumphs we prevailed through in the previous year.  And we do reflect back, it’s more on the physical accomplishments (did I make extra money, did I lose those extra 10lbs, did I get that car…etc…) rather than the internal self sustainable accomplishments (did I take risks, have I conquered a fear, did I improve my relationship with…).

So before you start on that resolution, let’s take a quick glance back at the previous year:

1. What risks did you take this year?
2. What did you learn about yourself?
3. What was your greatest challenge? Why?
4. What are 3 lessons you learned last year to implement this year?

Now, reflect on your answers to see what your personal theme is.  You’ll notice that your answers will be similar and situate around a specific subject – this is your theme of focus.  Is it about your health? Self-esteem? Business? Relationships? Family?  This then is the theme to expand on and enhance in this new year.

For another reflective exercise – describe yourself in 5 characteristics at the start of this year.  Now, write down the 5 things your want to be by the end of this year.  Everyday spend 5 minutes reflecting on the previous year lessons, your theme, and how you want to grow by the end of the year.  Visualizing is a powerful tool – it imprints in our minds/bodies the feeling/emotion we want to achieve and helps our biology evolve to aspire towards that feeling.  Resolutions are great, but many are empty promises we guilt ourselves into making due to our past year failures.  Rather than focus on failures, celebrate your growth.  Focus on the lessons you’ve graciously been bestowed and put them into practice this year to help further you personal growth.

I believe that this is the year of simplicity.  To see ourselves for who we truly are, to celebrate it, and to learn our lessons by listening to our minds and bodies.  Biology begets behaviour and vice versa (hence happy mind, happy body, healthy = happy), hence the simplicity of science can explain how to improve our health.  It’s showing that connection and putting it into practice which is my theme for 2017.  What’s your theme?