day 3

Greetings fellow change agents and welcome to Day 3 of the Finish Strong Challenge.

I woke this morning with a peaceful heart.  How about you?

Yesterday’s reflection on the year I’ve just lived was a significant experience for me.  It conjured up gratitude for wins previously unrecognized and regrets for missteps I need to forgive myself for.

It also made me realize, once again, how hard I am on myself.  Now you would think after “being me” for 55 years this would come as no surprise. Yet, whenever I truly stop to look at what I get done in a day, week, month and year – there is no denying when I put my heart and soul into something I can really kick ass.  But in my fervor to get to the “next thing” I miss the chance to revel in my kickassness and celebrate my wins.  Can you relate? Are you excavating triumphs, big and small, that perhaps flew by so quickly you didn’t take time to appreciate them?  If yes, you are not alone.

So today we just sit.

This morning I lit a candle and my favorite incense. I connected my Bose to “Liquid Mind” on Pandora and just sat with the awareness of me, my year and all that lead up to this moment.  It’s foggy and rainy outside. Boomer (my yellow lab) is asleep at my feet and I find my breath mirroring the rise and fall of his breath.  I get quiet and I go deeper.

Thinking back to what I wrote in my Rear-view Mirror Exploration (the one I shared in my Day 2 entry), I mentally meander through them as best I can.  Thankfully, my mind wanders first to the things I am celebrating – the joy I felt, the goals I met and the times I was working in my Zone of Genius.  From this space I took a deep breath and asked myself, “What else is there? What am I not seeing?”

Like clouds floating across the sky, more wins passed through my consciousness…

  • Two beautiful friendships that had blossomed out of a professional connection
  • The successful launch of one of my courses into a company in Australia
  • The way Mario patiently hung with me during my “funk” over the summer

And so it went. Like little seedlings that just needed time to germinate, small wins from the previous year continued to sprout.  You’ll find them in my ever evolving Year-In-Review Exploration.

Then I turned my attention to the missteps – the things I said I would “do over.”  As I examined them more closely, I realized that while each one had a very real downside, they all held a gift I could only appreciate now that I am on the other side. Each one gave rise to a new awareness, a renewed commitment or a sense of resolve that I am now taking into next year. Each one held a gift.

So this is my invitation for you – today, get quiet, go deeper and find what other gifts of awareness this past year holds for you.

Important Note: If you are NOT receiving my daily Finish Strong Emails and would like to, click here to opt in. I’ll start you off with Day 1 so we can walk this path together.  Then, tell me what you are thinking by posting a comment on this blog. This Finish Strong Challenge has become a passion project for me and I want to know if and how it’s serving you. ;0).

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