Dear 2012 - What have you learned this year?
…. I am borrowing this idea from Alison Piasecka and Sarah Salwa, they are running a workshop that I am attending in December which is called ‘Dear Year', although as I write this I have not yet attended the workshop and therefore don't know exactly what they are planning! (see here for details). My take on this is, if you were going to write a letter to 2012, what might it say? Think about doing the following:
- Thanking 2012 for the highlights – what were they?
- Perhaps ranting at 2012 for being so ****** difficult.
- Perhaps thanking 2012 for the challenges, as they can often prove useful in our personal growth.
- What have you learned in 2012:
- Personal learnings – for example, I have had some very challenging interactions to deal with through this year and I am very pleased with how I handled them, without getting too stressed.
- Work related learnings – for example, I have been learning about neuroscience, which has been fascinating, and I have been applying it to my own life and introducing the ideas to clients.
- World related learnings – have you come to any realisations about the bigger picture?
‘The secret of gratitude is to stop focusing on what you do not have, and shift your consciousness to an appreciation for all that you are and all that you do have.'
Dr Wayne W Dyer
This is something that you can take with you into the future. Thinking back to some of my coaching clients this year, here are some of the things they might have insights into:
- It is never as bad as you think it is going to be. ‘It' being whatever you were dreading, whether it was that difficult meeting, interview, family gathering or so called ‘day from hell'.
- Life is a constant process of learning and growing. You never get ‘there', wherever ‘there' is!
- If you want things to be different, then you have to do something different. There is that old adage of, ‘If you always do, what you have always done, you'll always get, what you always got, and if you don't like it, you need to do something different!!'
- Challenging relationships with others, in or out of work, start to change when you start to change.
Looking back on your experience of 2012, is there some insight that you will find useful to take into 2013? Perhaps write it down on a post-it note and put it somewhere prominent in your office or home as a reminder. Or write it on a postcard and give it to a friend and ask them to post it to you if you start to lose the plot in 2013!
‘I am learning that if I just go on accepting the framework for life that others have given me, if I fail to make my own choices, the reason for my life will be missing. I will be unable to recognise that which I have the power to change. I refuse to spend my life regretting the things I failed to do.'
Liv Ullman
When the nights start getting longer, the days are greyer (for readers in the northern hemisphere), it is easy to start getting low. A sure way to cheer yourself up is to think about all the people you want to thank for what they did in 2012, how they supported you and the fun you had with them. And then think about dropping them an email, a card or saying thank you to them for ……..
‘Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to?**'
Author Unknown
**If you would like a copy of the whole poem, then email mg@inspiretransformation.co.uk
Are there people you didn't get a chance to catch up with in 2012, are there things you hoped to do, which you didn't get around to? Perhaps 2013 will be the year when you do these things.
- Look out for January's Inspire, which will be published on Thursday 3rd January for looking ahead to 2013 and what you want from your year ahead.
‘When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love....'
Marcus Aurelius
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