.2020 was all about learning. 2021 will be about purposeful applying.
Inspired by Prue Sturgeon
Mine the Gold from 2020
Since we enter the new year, let me offer you a powerful new-year practice – the Gold Mining Exercise – a compelling way to become present in the current moment and get clarity about where we are moving to.
As you are reading this, you might consider taking a pen and paper. I will guide you through an easy process, where we take the past year, reflect on it, and move onto the new space and time of the new year.
For that, I am going to take you through 3 questions, and my invitation to you is to use them and explore what is there for you.
The goal of the practice is to mine for the gold of 2020. Those questions will allow you to elicit what that gold means for you and your life.
For this exercise, make a little stroll back to JAN 2020, a year ago.
Take a moment and close your eyes.
Take a deep breath…
Bring yourself into that moment of time. Allow your mind to wander back – wherever you were, and whatever circumstances surrounded you. Take a walk through the beginning of the year.
Who were the people you had the opportunity to meet or the places you had the chance to visit?
Fast forward through the spring and the summer…
Do you notice new choices that you have made? Or any memorable experiences you had? Or changes that made you grow or raise up? Did you get involved in a new project or started a brand-new hobby?
Move towards the autumn of that year and try to recall …
Did you acquire new skills? Created any new offers or services? Did you break through any long-standing patterns that are holding you back? Did you do something completely uncomfortable and scary?
Passing through the last quarter of the year, evoke how the lockdown for you was.
What did it allow you to experience? What was your family-life like or your relationships like? What were the HIGHs and the LOWs for you?
* * *
As your thoughts are rushing through, write them down as a list, or as bullet points, for example. Take the time to write your thoughts down.
Now, scan through your notes and notice if there is an overarching theme. Can you pinpoint it?
Ok, here comes the first question:
What is the gold you are taking from 2020 onwards?
Look at your notes and highlight those activities and experiences you want to keep in the new year.
- Which ones brought a positive influence for you?
- What is it that you want to keep doing moving onwards?
- What new habits you’d like to preserve?
- How did you respond to the crisis?
Let me share mine to give you an example.
When I was going through my 2020-exercise, I noticed that my gold revolves around Appreciation and Gratitude.
I started in 2020, hoping to get what I wanted. Instead, I learned to appreciate what I have – be grateful for having a healthy family, occupation, and a roof over my head.
This experience made me humble to accept abnormal circumstances and – despite them – make decisions for bettering my life.
So, I invite you to take the time and reflect on what is that thing that you’d bring from 2020 over to the new year. This brings us to question #2:
What are you choosing to let go of from 2020?
Again, place yourself in the present moment, and review anew the list you just created.
- Do you notice any lingering patterns that aren’t serving you, like limiting beliefs and stories about yourself or your life?
- If you need to draw a line, what would you choose to leave behind when moving to 2021?
- What are you letting go of?
As for me, I was spending too much time on learning and less on doing.
I found myself eager to learn all-there-is-to-know before making the step to realization.
My invitation to myself is to immediately put into practice all that I learn to use the momentum and savor the results, even if they are small improvements. I need to create the habit of applying my learnings without waiting for the perfect moment to arise.
Ok, by now, you’ve been on a big journey through 2020 – you’ve made reflection points about what is keeping you up or letting you down. Moving into this fresh new year, close your eyes again, and focus on question #3:
What are you choosing for yourself for 2021?
You can take as long as you need to answer this question, but I invite you to be true to yourself. For that, imagine yourself at the end of 2021.
- What would you like to have experienced more?
- What do you want to have felt more of for yourself?
- Who do you want to have become?
- What changes do you want to have brought for yourself, your family, and your community?
In my case, moving to 2021, what I want for myself is one word: PURPOSE.
My purpose is to respectfully serve others with love to help them understand and appreciate their value so that they are fulfilled, living their lives in peace and harmony.
I want to live my purpose and find out how it would show up for me.
I want to exercise my skills, so I can be in my genius and be around others who are in their genius, therefore we can grow together.
What are you inviting in for yourself for 2021?
I encourage you to share your gold under this post.
Let me challenge you further: tag 3 other people to share their gold.
2021 will be an amazing year. I am certain of it. Why? Because we will make it so. Together.
Let us get clear on our 2021 – let us get clear on the gold we are taking from 2020 and integrate it into the new year. Most importantly, support other individuals to do the same.
So, enjoy this little exercise, share your learnings from 2020. I can’t wait to read about your findings and lessons. And with that, let us co-create a better reality for everyone in 2021.
Let’s make things happen in 2021 and let’s be the person we want to be, taking action towards our goals every single day. Beautifully said and I can’t wait to see it beautifully done:):):)
Thank you, Genoveva for the warm words. The best part of all this is that it is in our hands to create 🙂