To begin the new, we need to end the old well. By getting to a place of gratitude for the past – letting go of regrets and failures – we’re ready to commence the new decade feeling positive and clear.  

I’ve designed the following exercise with the specific aim of getting you into a grateful and open-hearted space so that you can end 2019 elegantly, ensuring you don’t carry baggage from this year forward into the new year and decade. From the resulting space of inner calm and poise, we’re then going to look at our goals for the next 10 years to ensure they’re fulfilling and successful ones. You’ll need to set aside 20-30 minutes when you won’t be disturbed and can concentrate.

* Let’s start by listing 15 things you’re grateful for from this year. This list can include big successes, for example, you got married or you won a new account at work. But also make sure you include smaller things, such as, “I started a meditation practice and have managed 10 minutes of quiet time most mornings since September.”  The idea with this list is to keep going until you can feel gratitude welling up inside you for the gift of the last 12 months.

* Now, take a moment to consider: what was your greatest success this year? Write this down, and now think about how this success benefited the people around you – aim for a list of 10 benefits to others. Bear in mind ‘others’ can include family, friends, colleagues, partners, people you meet at the gym etc.

* Once you’ve finished, turn your thoughts to thinking about your greatest failure this year. Write down what it was, and now consider the growth opportunity and learning it afforded you – again, try to list 10 ways in which you learnt and grew from this supposed ‘mistake’ (really in life, there is no such thing, there is only growth).

Through answering these questions, you should come to a more balanced, wise perspective on the last 12 months. This is the perfect space from which to welcome the new cycle as we’re free from the past. To ensure we give the new decade our best shot, we’re going to consider the following:

* What would you really LOVE to dedicate time, effort and energy to over the next 10 years? (If this time period feels too daunting, consider your goals for the the next year.) Try to limit yourself to a list of 5 objectives. These can be professional, personal, health-oriented, whatever comes to mind. But when you set these goals, make sure you really feel love for the achievement of them. This is a very different vibe to the obligation we can sometimes feel when setting resolutions eg ‘I’d like to lose a stone’ – a goal we might set with a heavy heart because we feel that’s what January should be about.

* For each of the goals, list 5 things you can do to ensure you realise them. So, if your goal is to devote time and energy to creating a truly beautiful bond with your partner, you might sit down with him or her and work out 5 things you can do together every month that you both enjoy; once you have the list together, start to diarise the activities for January and February.  This way you break the goal down into small steps, making it much simpler and more tangible. There’s the added benefit that once you see the dividends from doing these shared activities in Jan and Feb, it will be much easier to make time for one another over the rest of the year.

I do hope these practices help you, and inspire you. I’d love to know how you get on, so do let me know.

If you would value support in boosting your health, mental pose and emotional balance to ensure you max out the opportunities of the coming decade, just click one of the links below:

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