Our family invested in an intentional time of self-audit as we looked back over 2023 and took time to voice some places that we see carrying with us in this new year.
Stepping into a new year is full of goal-setting and habit-tracking, and it can be a quick run into the days. Something that this year taught my spirit was that there is a ton of power to be found in an energizing mindfulness of 10-20 minutes each day.
As you step into this year, grab yourself some “mindfulness little candles.” They are an intentional 20-minute burn candle and it gives you the set time to be intentional and allow yourself the permission to listen to your inner wisdom for some moments during pause and reflection time. I found many options on Amazon.
It is easy to start setting your power word for the year and set goals for yourself without giving yourself some reflection time to see what was cultivated in you in the past year and how you want to carry that into your new focus.
Steps for a little audit time before you start setting those goals:
- Set a morning or space-time in the day where you can be unrushed and invest in some slow moments. We chose a Saturday morning where we made homemade French toast, drank coffee on the couch slowly, and simply ushered a state of being into the day.
- Set a framework for your mindfulness time. This part will be your preference but we chose for our time to be parents with one-on-one kid time for the processing.
- Journal your answers. We chose three questions from the year we all walked through and wrote down in a journal that we keep, but you may have other questions you would like to walk through. These particular questions gave us a great springboard for other conversations that followed.
What is something you noticed about yourself this year?
This was a beautiful question to sit with them on and see what stirred up a response on their *being* last year. Then we had affirmation time to speak about things we noticed about them as well – it’s learning to receive kind words spoken to you as it can feel uncomfortable at times.
What was a high point you experienced this year?
Loved the moments of *doing* captured in this question as they recounted a collection of moments lived throughout the year.
What was a challenge you walked through this year?
This question also gave great affirmation points to speak into areas they overcame and voice things that they may still be encountering as we enter the new year together. Ended the time with a, “What’s one word you think of as you experienced this year?” It was a sharpening time to give space for the year to be seen in a specific way, to let the hard moments have a place to be shared while also letting the joys shine in a voice as well, to acknowledge the coexisting movements of life as a new season and year begins.
