In Chinese Medicine, winter is the season of the Water element. Key themes include stillness, reflection, wisdom, determination, and paring back to the essences. It’s the perfect time for setting intentions; to look deep within, and tune into an internal wisdom; to take stock of where you are and where you’re heading, what your heart desires, what’s true to you.
BTW if you want to know more about the energy of winter and how to find this time of year a little easier, check out a couple of my older blogs here and here.
Many of my clients have been talking about end of year reviews and we’ve been crafting ways to honour a more holistic view, looking at all aspects of a life and the balance between them, honouring the challenges, learning without judgement, and celebrating the wins and the joy. And then setting intentions for the year ahead.
So I’ll share some review questions that you might like to ponder:
You can keep these questions “big picture” or hone in on specific aspects of your life if you wish, like work, relationships, health etc.
Before any review, I always suggest taking some time to soothe any stress that may be running in the background. Create a nurturing space to do it, both physically and emotionally. And remember to work with kindness and compassion – no criticism or punishment if things haven’t gone to plan.
Setting Intentions
I’ve also mentioned this for a couple of years now, but I think it’s such a nice process for setting intentions. To me, it’s so much better than New Year Resolutions – all punishment, gritted teeth, and setting yourself up for failure. Again, you can use it generally, or repeat for different elements of your life.
Ask yourself…
