Reflection and Intention Setting Exercise
2019 was the year I really dove into journaling, self-help and spiritual reading, and lots and lots of podcasts about healing and growth. The Yoga Girl Daily podcast became a part of my morning routine, listening to the quick thoughts while brushing my teeth. December 31st, 2019 the podcast was quite a bit longer and focused on reflecting and intention setting. She had a number of prompts that we were to journal on in reflection of 2019 and to prepare for what we hope to achieve or experience in 2020.
I loved the exercise so much that I plan to do it annually, with some added inquiries of my own. Grab your journal, get cozy, and join me in doing some internal excavation.
The first piece is to do "2020 at a glance", I like to do a giant brain dump of all the big things that happened, how things felt, etc. To me, this is a bulleted list. To you, maybe it's a beautiful narrative. Take a few moments to journal on "2020 at a glance"
Now, for deeper reflection. Think more comprehensively about things that happened in 2020 in relation to:
Home
Mind
Body
Spirit
Take as long as you need to journal on each category. What was the quality of each area? How did you feel about it? How was the experience overall? Was it as you had hoped? How did you adjust your expectations? How were you resistant? What did you learn? What do you need? Anything else that comes to mind...
Once you've done that, take some time to answer the following questions. You can think about them in terms of each of the above categories, or do a general summary of 2020 as a whole. This will help paint a picture of the overall theme and experience of 2020 for you:
What was your biggest challenge?
How did this challenge help you grow?
What was your biggest accomplishment?
How did you get there?
What was a mistake you made?
What was a wise decision you made?
What are you proud of?
What did you set out to do, and fail?
What were you scared of?
What were you holding on to?
What are you most grateful for this year?
What did 2020 teach you?
In 2020, who did you need to forgive?
What was a resource that helped you?
Define 2020 in one sentence.
What is one word that embodies 2020 for you?
On to 2021! Think back to those four categories from earlier (home, mind, body, spirit). Take some time to journal on what you long for in 2021 in each of those spaces.
Once you've done that, work through the following list of questions about 2021:
What is a boundary you want to set?
What is a pattern you don't wan to repeat?
How will you let it go?
What is a feeling you want to embody?
What is a major goal that you want to accomplish?
What is your intention for this year?
What do you want to manifest?
Write an affirmation for yourself in 2021
What is your word for 2021?
Finally, take a few moments to feel if there is anything else you need to get out onto paper. Was there anything you wanted to address that there wasn't an opportunity for? Any other wishes you have? Good thoughts you'd like to send to others? Write them down, get it all out.
And there you have it. Thank you so much for joining me, and happy New Year. Sending peace and love.