I think next year I will be focusing on living the life I’ve built.
It’s strange to go through the past couple of year-end journals. So much of what I hoped for in my life is happening and I haven’t even really stopped to fully acknowledge that. My biggest dream as I entered adulthood was to have a house, a garden, and a dog. Over the past two years, that has happened. Was it a lot of work? Heck, yeah. But, if I hadn’t thought specifically about those things it might have taken quite a bit longer.
I have been using Susannah Conway’s Unravel You Year for the past few years. Part of the exercise is to think of your “perfect day” and then think about all the little things you’re hoping for by the end of the next year. The fun part is that you can hope for anything. No judgments, nothing is too small, and nothing is too big to hope for. It’s not the time to be “realistic” but allow that inner child to really dream. What does your dream life really look like?
It’s amazing what can happen when you actually visualize what you want instead of just saying “if it happens it happens.” There’s a little of that, but the main point is that you have a huge part in your own happiness and future.
I love visualizing and vision boards, not because I believe in the woo-woo of it all (shhh, maybe I do, but you don’t have to), but because I really do think you need to see it in your mind to achieve something. You have to believe wholeheartedly in the future you want to get yourself to move toward it. Not even the stuff that you want, but the experiences and the emotions you want to have. That could put you on the road to something you can’t even begin to dream of.
So, am I living my life with the intentions I set in mind? Sometimes. Am I living my dream life? Eh, not quite yet, but I know for sure my younger self would disagree.
I think I could do a much better job at enjoying the little things in my life. Do I appreciate them? Of course! But sometimes stress gets me down and I lose sight of how ecstatic I would have been to hear of what I achieved and how I am living. “We have a dog?! AND A HOUSE?! We picked HOW MANY peppers last summer?!” but also “We walked almost 3 miles almost every day?! We finished how many drafts of our novel?! We read HOW MANY books?!” Yeah…I’d be pretty stoked to hear what I’d accomplished in the past few years.
I’m hoping that in the next year I can find a hobby that gives me a bit of that gratification that writing often doesn’t. Writing is a long-term kind of accomplishment. You don’t see the progress until you look back at what it started as. I’d love to get back into art or sewing or something where the progress is tangible.
Let’s see what I can do this next year. The possibilities are truly endless, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Happy Creating 🙂
Rachel
Subtle Stories 