In 2016, how did you grow? What made you come alive?

The spiritual practice of reflection is one of my important regular practices, especially as I complete a cycle. With reflection, you get to see where you started at the beginning of the cycle and you witness how you’ve been transformed.
 
In my last blog post, I mentioned two different ways you can use to reflect on your 2016 year.

One way is to do a chronological review. Bring your mind back to January and recollect the events that happened in your life. Then move to February and so on. You can look through your calendar as you do this if you need some help remembering all the things that happened.
 
Another way to reflect in 2016 is to examine the different areas of your life. These include: love, relationships, career, home, creative expression, wealth, finances, health, spirituality, service, community, travel, self-care, education, politics, world affairs, and many others. You can make a diagram of these words and see what happened in each of these areas of life.
 
I’ve put together six key questions to help you reflect more deliberately and to help you honor and celebrate 2016. For the last blog post, one of the questions was“What surprised you in 2016?”
 
Here are two more questions to add to the list:
 
How did you grow in 2016?
 
Thinking through each month of this past year and in different areas of your life, how did you grow?
 
One of the best ways to acknowledge growth is to uncover the lessons you gained from your experiences.

Whether you had challenges or accomplishments, you most likely picked up a few key insights and were transformed by your experiences.
 
If you can, write some of these lessons down. Ask yourself how you’ve grown as a result of these experiences.

How are you different now than when you started out the year?
 
I asked one of my clients recently about how he grew since he started working with me. In the beginning, he said he felt as if he were in a slumber. He wasn’t clear where he wanted to direct his energy, and he didn’t feel particularly enthused.
 
Within a few weeks of working together, he realized he was able to tap into his own passion and to say yes to the inspiration that his heart was naturally guiding him to experience more fully.
 
As he wraps up 2016, he feels more purposeful and in flow with the rhythm of Life itself.
 
Purpose and flow are good indicators that something is working in your life. This leads to the next question to help you honor and celebrate 2016.
 
What made you come alive in 2016?
 
As you reflect on this past year, where do you feel the juice? What made you feel fully present in the moment?
 
Aliveness is a quality that speaks to your own uniqueness.
 
You are a unique expression of life. You show up in the world in only the way that you can.
 
As a result of your uniqueness, your joy is also unique to you.
 
When you recognize what brings you joy and that feeling of aliveness, you open up your awareness to a greater understanding of what brings you meaning in the world.
 
Where did you feel an energy and zest to life?
 
The stirrings in your heart are signposts to the real you.
 
For these last weeks of 2016, I’ll be sharing three more questions that help you to honor and celebrate this last year. Keep a journal with your responses to these questions. They’ll help you as you’ll eventually be looking into 2017.
 
I’d love to hear what came up for you as you reflected on how you grew and what made you come alive in 2016. Please feel free to share in the comments below.

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​Special Note:
I’m putting together an online class called “Vision Your Best 2017.” If you’re interested in getting notified when this program is available, fill out the form here. You’ll also get notified of the early bird special.

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