One of my favourite traditions at the end of each year is sitting down and reflecting on what I have learnt, and how I have changed in the year that is soon to pass. 2020 was a wild year of adventure, important life chapters, unexpected lessons and growth. 2021 has gone by in a blur to be honest, and sitting down to write this post was one of the very few moments I’ve spent on deeper reflection and introspection this year which is usually not like me at all.
2021 has been a year less focused on self-growth and reflection and more focused on doing. So much has happened in the past 12 months, from starting a new career, to planning a wedding and getting married, to making the decision to start a family and falling pregnant. This all off the back of 2020 which was one of the most significant years of my life. It has been a wild two year ride and to be frank, I’ve lost my breath a little! It’s been wonderful and beautiful and abundant, but also manic, tiring and demanding. Starting this year off my intention for 2021 was to live intentionally. I wanted this year to be less focused on tasks and achieving and more on living “on purpose”. Did I do that? Honestly, not really. Although this year gave me so much life and wonder, I feel like it happened in such a big way that at times I forgot about intentional living completely, I was so focused on just keeping up with it all and making sure everything got done.
This year felt like a bit of a wondrous rat race for me and at times I feel as if I got so absorbed in running that I forgot to take in the view around me. Although I learnt a lot this year, the lessons felt different to the years that have gone before. They weren’t as conscious, and they were far less obvious. As I sit writing this post I find myself almost having to search for them, as if carefully examining myself to try see what has changed along the way. I find that our most significant years from a personal growth perspective are our most challenging ones – years that force us to break and re-build, chapters that challenge who we think we are at its core. This year hasn’t been like that for me and in many ways I’m so grateful, because looking back it was all just so good. It was easy, it was natural, and it was beautiful. So maybe this is one of those times that I can be grateful for not being so vastly different as I was a year ago.
As I move into 2022 I’m acutely aware of how much change is lying in the road, waiting to absorb me. In May we will welcome our son into the world and as I begin the journey of motherhood I know that this version of me and the life Kyle and I have so meticulously created will not look near the same this time next year. I also know that where 2021 was extremely busy getting life ticked off, 2022 will force me to let go of productivity as measure of success and force me to walk at a slower pace, more consciously and focusing more on the fundamentals of what is important.
2021 taught me:
- No matter how busy or overwhelming life may seem, it all happens moment by moment, day by day in bite sized chunks. There’s no point in trying to feel it all at once.
- Consciously taking time to process our emotions is one of the most important things we can do for our mental health and to lighten the load as we journey forwards.
- Doing is not as glamorous as it looks. Living a life overly full and busy does not increase your worth, it just makes you tired. Simpler lives are richer lives as they create more room for our internal worlds which are far more real than the external worlds.
- Cutting out space for yourself to do things that make you happy and reconnect with yourself is something we probably all need to be doing far more often.
- Just as you are on your own journey of growth and life experience, so is everyone else. Don’t take things so personally and don’t force relationships – let it come and let it go.
- Sometimes life knows the way forward before you do – embrace opportunities that find you and the unexpected doors that might open. Never turn away from life because of fear or a lack of belief in yourself.
- There is very little control we have over our external worlds, so choosing optimism and positivity over pessimism and negativity can only make the ride more enjoyable.
- No one cares as much about your life as you think they do, so live it in a way that makes you happy.
- None of us say “No” enough. No to things that make us uncomfortable. No to things we don’t want in our lives. No to draining and toxic relationships. No to unhealthy thought patterns. We are far too accommodating and welcoming of toxicity in our lives both from others and from ourselves.
- Just because you feel a type of way does not make you right.
- Actually, despite it all life is still pretty wonderful.
So what are my intentions for 2022? This year ahead I want to try fulfill the commitment I made to myself at the beginning of this year and live more intentionally. I want to slow down and live in a way that feels good to me. I want to practice saying “no” more and holding stronger boundaries around myself and my family. And above all, I want to manage this next life transition with grace, kindness and awareness.
Wishing you all a beautiful 2022!
xx