Congratulations! You made it to the end of the challenge!
Today’s Task: Reflect & Project (AKA take stock and set your sights on what’s to come)
Today was the most magical day ever. It was the first weekend after the growing season that I didn’t have a full Sunday dedicated to working outside, plus two hours of commuting.
What a gift it is to have my Sundays back…to sleep in, make a delicious brunch, listen to inspiring podcasts, catch up on personal finance, laundry, meal prep, and lay out the week ahead for work and personal stuff.
I didn’t realize how much I was missing this time until I had it back.
Today’s task is to reflect and project. Project is being used as a verb here.
You can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve gone.
Taking stock of what you’ve accomplished over the last 30 days is important. What are you proud of? What went well during the challenge? What’s something you’d like to keep as you move into the next 30, 60, 90 days? Anything you still want to work on? What’s a gentle way of inviting that in instead of beating it into yourself that it’s the next thing on ‘the list’?
I’m hoping that my reflections serve as inspiration for your own:
What went well:
- Phone reminders – the best one that I forget about every day and thank myself for is “Take a deep breath. Can you slow down?” that goes off at 4 p.m. It’s a subtle reminder that I’m in control of how I react to what’s going on around me, and that I’m often the pilot putting things in high gear.
- Turning my alarm off on a consistent basis or adjusting based on the previous night’s sleep and wanting to honor my body’s need for rest.
- Consistently prioritizing my physical health through a 30-day fitness challenge and having an accountability partner. This went so well, we’re doing another one starting next week!
- Not overbooking myself while traveling to KS and visiting with colleagues in the Cities. I typically fill may days to the brim and this was the first time I said no more than 2 connect meetings in a day. It was a perfect balance.
Something I’m proud of:
- Keeping up with my Wellness Journal and logging fitness, physical symptoms, and diet. The physical symptom’s piece has forced me to take better stock of my stress levels, my sleep, and connections between specific parts of my body that are experiencing pain and their psychological underpinnings. I’d like to think that this is helping me with preventing flare ups with my chronic fatigue and address issues before they become big.
Things I still want to work on:
- Curbing my cravings for sugar
- Having 1 day a week that’s completely open and unplanned (this will be interesting to navigate in India…)
- Carving out more time on a regular basis to read for pleasure
Things I want to let go of:
- Control. This is a big one for me that I’m always working on. Going with the flow. Embracing changes to schedules and meetings and commuting plans with crazy weather.
- Having grace for myself in moments when I’m not showing up as my best self.
- Physical stuff! I’m going to be doing this in a big way in about 13 days by bringing nothing but two suitcases with me to Kansas and a few kitchen appliances. I am excited for what this freedom – and space – will allow to come through!
Gentle ways of inviting this change in rather than using a ton of masculine energy to push my way to success:
- Practicing meditations that invite me to embrace my grandma energy and 150-year old self to the table to help me navigate current situations
- Saying ‘no’ more often than not to opportunities, especially if they don’t align with creating more simplicity in my life/schedule. Again – creating space for the right things to come in.
- Practicing yoga more frequently! Swimming. Any activity that allows for reflection.
As a closing to this section, I want to offer one final reflection related to this challenge that I was not expecting, which is that of seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes. And learning to make space for others in your existing routines and schedules. I would be remiss to mention that I’ve spent the last 30 days actively challenged in both of those regards, which is an important piece of context to offer. Not only have I been working to create more rest and balance and health for myself, but I’ve been sharing my life with another human. Not easy by any means, especially when you’re used to doing things a certain way.
I’ve realized that my morning and night time routines keep me grounded in a bigger way than I realize, and that I could use to practice more patience and grace when those routines are thrown off for a day or two. It’s important that in these times I find small pockets of time to ground myself again – through breathing and exercise.
Now that you’ve taken a bit of time to reflect on the last 30 days, I invite you to dream and imagine a bit about the coming 30 days and maybe even 6 months. Who do you want to be then? How will you show up in the world? What might other people be saying about you?
My own musings..
“Emily, you’re just glowing!”
“You look so healthy and fit!”
“Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it girl.”
“What’s your secret?”
Who I will be in 6 months (note the use of ‘will be’ vs. ‘want to be’):
- More grounded in my own spiritual practice on a daily basis
- More playful in my interactions with others and my expression in dance
- Open about expressing my love of physical touch with friends, family, and new acquaintances
How I will show up in the world:
- With laughter and a big smile
- With eagerness and curiosity for all that is around me
- With confidence that I am on the correct path even if it doesn’t feel that way
- Grounded in who I am and what I have to offer others
- Living the yogic philosophy, not just practicing on my mat
- Possessing an adventurous spirit and compassion towards others
Well folks, that’s all for now. I encourage you to save whatever notes you have with today’s date and revisit them in a few months. I promise, now that you’ve set the intention, things are going to unfold in ways that you can’t even imagine.
It’s been such a privilege to get to accompany you on this journey. I hope that you’ve found something of use during this time, and that you’ll carry one habit with you into the future.
Of course, you are always encouraged to join the Mezclada family via our newsletter if you aren’t already subscribed, or sign up for the waitlist to be notified when Aligned Farm Design is accepting applications. It will be a great way to keep apprised of new offerings and free resources.
