Taking Stock of the Year

As I sit her on a late November afternoon, I am thinking about intentions for the off-season and the coming year. Here are 10 ideas that have surfaced in my life and work in 2017 to inspire your own reflections:

Compare = Despair

There is enough success to go around and it is important to surround ourselves with people who are striving. Put on Technicolor lenses and broaden your vision to see that success exists in the small steps of everyday life. It is contagious and it is definitely a disease you want to catch!

Talk to yourself as you would someone you love

If your inner voices are not of the people who love and respect you, they are not useful. Decide whose voices you want to hear in your mind and practice hearing them in times of ease so that when you struggle, those are the voices you hear.

Explore the darkness to see the light

Revealing your demons and exploring the darkness is part of the safety net. Be sure to have at least one person in your life with whom you can explore the darkness so the it does not envelop you by trying to get you to pay attention to the challenges and negativity that are just part of being human.

Learn to use your fears

Recognize that fear comes up to get us to pay attention in very particular ways. Do not resist exploring fear. Feel it bubbling up and offer heightened focus so that growth and learning can emerge instead of resistance and suffering. Fear x Resistance = Suffering

Channel adrenaline into performance potential

Adrenaline can be an extremely uncomfortable and essential element in peak performance. Learn how to channel adrenaline and how to stay present in your body as it comes up so that you can access your best performance potential more often.

Practice patience for maximum growth

Waiting at least 30 minutes after an athletic performance to download and analyze supports staying on the middle path – disallowing too much confidence or too much self-loathing. Commit to this practice and grow from all kinds of experience.

Commit to a practice

Daily quietude trains the brain to pause when strong emotions emerge so that you can decide how to behave and what to say instead of being driven by impulse.

Let go of the stories you rehearse about your shortcomings and get closer to your true self

The good, bad and ugly are all important to know. Reveal your challenges honestly and chart a course to growth, change, and ultimately authenticity.

Keep life simple and routine to allow for the most pleasure and satisfaction
Rethink your relationship to social media and get clear on how you want it to fit into your life (or not).

As far as next year goes and visions for the future, stand by and I will share my next collage that will project my dreams and intentions. These lessons have allowed me the space to write the book I have always wanted about my work with athletes and how to construct your personal MindZone. Whats next? I go back and continue learning these lessons:

I am focusing on increased fitness blended with down timeI am organizing my home life by going through closets and drawers to eliminate clutter.
I am visualizing changes I want to make to my business to deepens how I work with clients and allow for enhanced sessions.
I am filling my mental well with intention – reading and listening to podcasts every morning and evening.
I am cooking stews and eating at home.
I am meditating every day.
I am spending time with family and preparing for an annual ski trip.
I am giving my horses much deserved time off from training.
I am slowing down if I possibly can.

I encourage you to take my lead and reflect, rest, renew, and just be. As these days shorten, turn inward and give yourself the gift of the here and now.

EXERCISE: Follow my lead and set intentions for the coming weeks.

Turn inward and write a list in your journal of the things that you are

(or would like to be) doing for yourself.