Dear 2017, This Is What I Promise To You...

Hello 2017, it’s very good to see you. 

I can’t wait to see what you have in store.

To kick start the new year, I have a journal prompt for you:

Dear 2017, this is what I promise to you...

How would you finish this sentence? It’s a question I asked myself at the end of last year and it really helped me to get laser-focused on how I wanted to show up for my work and my life in 2016. For 2016 I outlined:

  • To play bigger
  • To only ask of my life what I’m willing to make happen myself
  • To explore and live more

These were the perfect anchors for me as I entered the brand new year, as they empowered me to truly take responsibility for my own growth, joy, and happiness throughout the year along the way. At the end of 2016 I sat down to ask myself the same question: what do I want to promise this brand new year ahead? What's come to the surface for me for 2017 is:

  • To show up wholeheartedly to my work and my life
  • To fill this year with travel and adventures
  • To prioritise taking care of myself
  • To live my truth out loud
  • To continue to run a big-hearted business
  • To run in the direction of a life that feels most meaningful and true to me

To help you dive deeper into what’s coming to the surface for you as you explore this, I have six questions for you: 

1. What do you want more of this year and what do you want less of? 

What lights you up? What do you want to fill your days, weeks, and months with? What drains you? What are you bored of? What do you want to let go of? 

For me? I realised I want more adventures, more exploration and fun, more creativity, and more of a daily life that makes me want to jump out of bed in the morning. And I want less screen time, less stress, less over-thinking, and less worrying about the things that I can’t control.

2. What do you want to fill your year with?

Do you want more travel? More downtime? More work? More connection? How do you want to spend your days this year? Time so often feels out of our control, but the truth is that we are the ones who decide what we fill our days with, so it’s up to us to be intentional with what we make space for in our lives.

As for me? I want to fill my year with travel and adventures, time with loved ones, work that feels meaningful and fun, creative projects that feel challenging and energising, and self-care that allows me to feel healthy, happy, and well. 

3. How do you want to feel in 2017?

Do you want to feel focused? Inspired? Energised? Challenged? At peace? Connected? Productive? We can sometimes focus too much on what we want to achieve or do that we forget that how we feel is important too.

This year I want to feel connected to the things that truly matter, energised by my life and my work, at peace with the season I’m in, focused, productive, and impactful in my business, and joyful and fulfilled in my life.

4. How do you want to show up in 2017?

Do you want to be brave? Bold? Intentional? Kind? Generous? Determined? Devoted? Relaxed? Stress-free? It’s up to us to decide how we tackle our life, and so much of the time we become the people we want to be just by choosing to show up as that person every step of the way. 

In 2017 I want to be brave, focused, kind, devoted the things that matter to me, and stress-free when it comes to the things that I don’t want to drain my energy and my time. I want to show up with a whole heart, give my life and my work 100%, and be brave enough to stay true to myself along the way. 

5. What do you want to give yourself permission to want, do, explore, or make space for this year? 

What are you aching for that you’re not giving yourself permission to do? Do you want more time off? More adventures? Do you want to let go of toxic relationships? Business goals that no longer align with your vision for your work and your life? Sometime’s the way to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be is just by giving ourselves permission to actually live the life that we want to live.

As for me? I want to give myself permission to live as much as (if not more than) I work. To trust that giving my work and my business 100% doesn’t have to look like spending every hour in front of my laptop, or feeling exhausted at the end of every week. I want to give myself permission to carve out space for creative projects that have absolutely no financial goals attached to them, and I want to make more space for exercise and truly taking care of my health and wellbeing this year too. 

6. What do you want to prioritise in your work and your life this year? 

What’s most important to you this year in your work and your life? What projects, goals, and areas in your life and your career do you want to prioritise? What do you want to focus your time and energy on in 2017?

For me, I want to prioritise my clients and growing in my coaching practice, creating content that feels meaningful, fun, and true, and running my big-hearted business on my own terms every step of the way. I also want to prioritise time for creative work outside of my business this year too, as there are a couple of projects I really want to carve out some creative space for. As for my life, I want to prioritise self-growth, self-care, and time with the people who matter most. 

To finish

So what do you want to promise to 2017? More than anything, I hope this journal exercise can help you to carve out some time to think about how you want to show up this year, and what matters to you most as you navigate the next 12 months ahead to come. 

Here’s to a joyful 2017, in whatever way that looks like for you...

As always, I’m rooting for you!


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Jen Carrington