It is New Year’s eve and, as many of you may have been doing, this week my husband, Rene, and I like to take time to reflect on what we accomplished in 2017 both personally and professionally and what we desire to achieve in 2018. We make a whole day of it and even upped our game by spending that day at the spa – BEST IDEA EVER.
The thing is, that even in the midst of some of the big lows; I decided it was okay to feel the dark uncomfortable feelings (at least for a moment) honoring them in stead of stuffing them deep down inside, then I moved forward by bringing myself back to how I desired to feel, which led me to the next step of the way and back to feeling positive and on track.
But believe me, it wasn’t always the easiest process a times as some of my 2017 lows were feeling:
– Frustrated and stressed with tons of nanny issues – from one quitting, to having no care for over a month, and another turning out to be mentally unstable
– Tired, stressed, and drained with lots of corporate travel all Spring due to a big product launch
– Deep sadness and grief when my dear maternal grandmother, who I was very close to, passed away in May
– Confused and worried when my son was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder
But wow, 2017 had some of the most amazing highs to make it one of the most spectacular years yet, leaving me feeling:
– Adventurous as we took our 3yo son on his first road trip to Montana and got to see Yellowstone National park (bucket list!) – which also gave me confidence that we can do lots more trips
– Proud of my husband as he advanced his career by taking a new exciting job that has opened up so many leadership and development opportunities for him (and the opportunity for us to spend more time in Arizona – we have a secret desire to be snow birds)
– Ecstatic when I realized this year I doubled my side hustle business revenue from last year even though earlier in the year I was doubting myself
– Ease as I stopped trying so hard to do all-the-things I thought I should be doing in my business and just allowed myself to show up, be me, and do things my way. So much so that without even trying I doubled my client roster
– Overwhelming joy as my rock star clients have had some of the biggest transformations to date that it has brought tears to my eyes multiple times over.
– Impressed and proud of myself as I committed to write my story and co-author my first book – something I thought I never would do (more on how that is going in another post)
– Peace and presence as I decided to make my family my number one priority
– Liberated and free as I finally decided to quit my corporate job
With the good and the bad – looking at the whole, it does all really feel good. Rene and I were just saying yesterday that 2017 has truly been the best year yet and we feel completely fulfilled, grateful, and abundant… But we didn’t always feel this way.
There was a time when we hardly planned at all. We had no plan, the resolutions we did set felt flat and lackluster, and we rarely planned goals together (therefore got mediocre results). We were happy but mostly just floating along, not actively achieving what we desired.
But what is the point if you feel uninspired and don’t even enjoy the process of meeting your goals?
What’s the point if you are striving, pushing, and destroying yourself to meet your goals?
What’s the point if you don’t have any soul-fuelled goals that light you up?
Things changed for us about 4 years ago when I dove deep into The Desire Map by Danielle LaPort, and decided to set and achieve my goals differently – all based on the feelings I wanted to feel. Reverse engineering my goals to then decide to chase the feelings I hoped the goals would give me instead of chasing the goals themselves. And though he was skeptical and dragged his feet at the time, Rene now loves this process and swears that it has changed everything for us, leading us into the best, most successful years to date – and I’d have to agree 😉 #nowabeliever
The point is we focused first on how we wanted to feel and then set our goals around how wanted to achieve those. We made decisions based off of how we wanted to feel. During times of stress and sadness we brought ourselves back to how we wanted to feel. And over the years we have developed our own process of doing this together by taking a day in December to celebrate our year and set in motion what we really want to happen and feel in the next year. Then we meet up quarterly to check in on how we are feeling and make adjustment to the plan. These check-ins are equally important as they have kept us on the path to feeling good and pivoting when necessary. It is so beautiful and truly keeps getting better and better each year.
And while the process originally started out using Desire Mapping to access how we wanted to feel, it has become so much more (and easier to digest for those less “woo-woo” like my hubby). This process is just too good to keep to ourselves.
This is why I am sharing this process with you in a live virtual workshop on January 27th, 2018: ReSOULutions – setting goals with soul for the New Year. We will meet on Zoom, reflect on 2017, get clear on how we want to feel in 2018, and then set a plan to achieve those soul fueled goals. And don’t be surprised if I pop some bubbly to celebrate YOU!
Like true Gina fashion, I am keeping this virtual workshop small and intimate at only 20 people max. There are now only 12 spots left, so reserve your seat if you want in, and if you have any questions whatsoever, just reply back to this email.
In the meantime, CHEERS to all of the beautiful highs and lows of 2017 and ringing in 2018! I have a feeling it is going to be a big expansive year for many women, including you.
Happy New Year!
xo,
Gina
PS – If you’re ready to work together and you feel 2018 is your year to gain massive clarity, success, and freedom, click here to set up a time to chat about your big side hustle success dreams and life goals.
