Welcome to The LIFT
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WELCOME TO 2023
It’s nice to be here with you! As you know, I took a break in December to enjoy the holidays. It’s one of the busiest times of the year for my business + giving myself that little extra bit of space really allowed me to have some fun doing all of the festive things.
We rode our tandem bike around the Hotel del Coronado. We rented a boat + watched the Parade of Lights in San Diego Bay. We enjoyed December nights - complete with fake snow + lots of holiday festivities.
We also spent lots of time with family + friends. And, we kept up with our long training runs on the weekends as my husband + I prepare for the Carlsbad Half Marathon in a couple of weeks.
I love the holidays + I like to squeeze in ALL I can during this magical time of year, but I’m not gonna lie. I’m SO glad it’s over! It felt good to put the decorations in the storage box + to see some openings in the calendar again.
I’m ready to step into this year with a little more intention + a pace that I can maintain for the long haul.
How about you?
A YEAR IN REVIEW
My husband + I carve out a weekend at the end of each year for what we call ‘life planning’. It’s something we have done together for the last 20 years or so. It started out quite by accident, but over time, we began to see the magic that happens when you sit down + write out your goals. So, we made it a tradition - a ritual of sorts.
It’s always cool to review your list from the previous year + see the progress you have made. It’s also eye-opening to see which things never seem to get done - even though they show up on the list year after year.
Do you have a practice like this? A time to review, reflect + regroup?
Of course, it doesn’t have to be centered around the calendar. We can do this at any time. But, for us, the last week of the year is slower + as business owners, it’s a good time to review numbers for tax planning purposes.
I also find joy in emptying the folders, refreshing the spreadsheets + enjoying that blank page, fresh start feeling of a new calendar year.
This practice has really helped us over the years. It helps us celebrate our successes + our progress. It helps us get honest about the areas we tend to put off. It helps us align our wants + wishes so we can support each other. And, it’s fun!
By giving ourselves this time on the calendar together, we have found a way to make sure we are still moving in the same direction - together. We remind ourselves of the WHY behind it all. And, we regroup + recommit to our partnership as we step into the new year.
This is also something you can totally do by yourself. No partner required.
MANIFEST TO MANIFEST
Life can really just pull you along + time flies by. Your dreams + wishes can easily get lost in the shuffle of day-to-day life. Your priorities can get buried underneath the busyness + constant distractions. Your commitments can get sidelined + overlooked.
They say if you don’t plan your life, someone else will.
Isn’t that the truth?
If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much. - Jim Rohn
If you don’t clearly identify where you are going, it’s very hard to map out a route to get there. And much like your car’s navigation system, if you have the address plugged in, it’s much easier to find alternate routes when roadblocks occur.
When my husband + I walk away from our life-planning weekend, we have a shared document that serves as a sort of manifest - a definitive direction + guide. It’s something we can pull up at various times of the year to review + remind.
In fact, we try to do that quarterly - a check in + review. We are not as consistent with that - especially these last couple of years through the pandemic, but we were doing a good job of it before + it’s our intention to get back to a more consistent quarterly review.
Did you know that a plane is off course 90% of the time on any given flight? Weather conditions, turbulence + other factors cause it to get off track. The pilot is constantly reassessing + correcting to ensure the flight reaches its destination.
I have found life to be like that, too. Heck, I can barely remember why I went into the next room. That’s how easy it is to get off track these days.
It’s not easy to stay the course. That’s actually good news. You shouldn’t expect yourself to be on track all of the time. You just have to know where the track is + keep realigning with it.
We live in a time where it’s incredibly difficult to maintain any sense of focus. There are constant distractions. Information overload. Shiny objects.
Your manifest helps you remember your own true north.
That said, don’t get too attached to your destination either. It’s okay to change course. Sometimes while en route, you realize you don’t really want to go where you’re headed. That’s allowed. It’s your life. Just don’t let yourself wander around too long, you’ll run out of gas. Choose a destination. Update your flight plan. Don’t worry if it’s the right one. Just see where it takes you. You can plug in another destination once you get there + refuel. The same is true for those unexpected detours or re-routes.
We’ve been watching the series “Manifest” on Netflix - so I apologize for all of the airplane analogies. LOL.
BEHIND THE PLAN
Here’s a little peek into our planning session. It’s really rather simple, but it’s powerful. Obviously, you can adapt this to include a significant other or you can just complete it for yourself.
One key part of our plan is that we make it FUN. It’s something we look forward to. We usually try to escape. Change our location. Put ourselves somewhere that feels abundant + expansive. We work in blocks of time so we don’t burn out + we always include good food + some type of celebration.
VISION STATEMENT
The first thing we do is to review + update our vision statement - which is really just a couple of paragraphs stating our values + the life we are committed to having. It is written in first person, present tense. This statement tends to stay pretty consistent, but we are always making little tweaks + adjustments to it.
REVIEW
Next, we spend a block of time reviewing our previous year’s goals + the action list we created. We review our life categories:
health
family
finances
business + career
fun + adventure
community
house + home
wants + wishes
We review last year’s list in each of these categories. We cross off what was accomplished. We review what wasn’t. We decide what we want to carry over or continue or add in the year ahead. What got done? What didn’t? What are we ignoring? What are we no longer committed to? What is missing?
UPDATE
Next, we update that list. What are our goals for the year ahead? What do we need to do? Who needs to do it? Do we need help? From there, we create a new action plan to move toward each of these goals. We try to get as detailed as possible.
CALENDAR
Perhaps the most important step in our planning session - the calendar. Once we have our action plan, we sit with our shared calendar + we start to plug these items into our calendar for the year.
We make sure our priorities are on the calendar: workouts, meal planning, meal prepping, family time, date nights. As many of the things from our action plan that we can calendar out, we do. Otherwise, when is it going to happen? If it’s not on the calendar, I can guarantee, it’s going to get lost in the shuffle of life.
BRINGING IT TO LIFE
As you are reading this, we are in the midst of our planning session for this year. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks. We have weaved in some good food + fun. We have already done some pre-planning so we could come into it prepared + ready to make the magic happen.
One thing I can guarantee is that we are having fun. Creating, dreaming, plotting, scheming…it’s the stuff life is made of.
I hope you carve out some time to do more of it in 2023. As we all continue to recover from the blows of the last few years, it’s a great time to slow down, refocus + remind ourselves what matters most + what is worthy of our time + attention.
Then, get it on the calendar.
And, so it begins. 2023.
YOUR MISSION:
If there’s something at the top of your list for 2023, my challenge to you this week is to get it on the calendar. Is it a daily activity? Weekly? Monthly? Once in a lifetime? Whatever it is, open up your calendar right now. Block out the time.
Do you have a year-end ritual or tradition? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below.
RESOURCES:
Need a little inspiration as you start the new year? Here are a couple of books to get you rolling:
READ: The 12 Week Year | Brian Moran
READ: Atomic Habits | James Clear
IN SUMMARY:
Thanks so much for starting the year off here with me! I look forward to sending you a little LIFT each week to help you stay the course + course correct along the way.
See you next week?
P.S. If I have just one wish for the new year, it’s that you share this newsletter with any friends you think might enjoy it. I’d love to continue growing + doing this thing + your support can make that happen!
Your plan always gets you two to the finish line!!! Happy New Year!
Love this and I’m totally going to try it!!!