I love the idea of the New Year. Getting a clean slate, setting new goals, starting over. But for some of us, the New Year represents disappointment. Disappointment with goals unfulfilled, dreams never started, everything we hoped to accomplish during the year and didn’t.
For myself, I dropped setting New Year’s Resolutions years ago. Statistics show that 2 out of 10 people who set resolutions never make it out of January. And like most other people, I was no different. The resolutions remained unfulfilled. I’d be all in for the first couple of weeks, but by February, they were gone.
This year though, I thought I’d try something new. I’m a fan of Tonya Leigh, over at Frenchkisslife.com and she recommends answering the following three questions. Actually, she calls them “celebrations” and I like that because one of the things I hope to improve in my life, is to celebrate more.
When it comes to our riding, all these questions or “celebrations” are applicable, but they really apply to all areas of our life. This is a great exercise that I hope you will participate in. Grab a piece of paper or a journal, and let’s get started!
What Do You Want To Celebrate From Last Year?
The first question is “What do you want to celebrate from last year?” When it comes to riding and my horse, my mind immediately goes to competing. Competing with my horse has been a part of me since I was 13 years old. But this year was different. We actually took this year off from competing. But, there is still a lot to celebrate:
- My horse stayed healthy. I did not call the vet once.
- By not competing, I saved a lot of money in show and training fees.
- I was able to focus more on some new and different skills I hope to develop with my horse even more over the coming year.
Personally and business wise I’m able to celebrate these things:
- I lost 17 lbs. As a woman over 60, I’ve noticed over the last couple years changes with my body, especially in my midsection. I’ve developed what I like to call the “menopause belly”, and it finally bothered me enough to do something about it. I know that this one will be on many of your lists of things to accomplish this year, and I’d be happy to share more about it if you’re interested.
- I created SuccessUnderSaddle.com all by myself. I’m not very “techy”, but I really wanted to create this blog, so I did!
- I put into practice getting up at 4:30 am and have sustained it since beginning the practice for most of the year. Because I’m still working at a regular job and commuting, I need to leave the house at 7 am. Getting up a 4:30 allows me to not only get all the barn chores completed, but some time to drink coffee, read, do research and write in quiet and without distraction.
- I have 3 kids and 3 grandchildren. All of them live a plane ride away from me. I was able to visit with all 3 families this spring and summer. It’s super important to me that I not let distance keep me from knowing and connecting with my grandchildren.
What Mistakes or Regrets Do You Want to Celebrate from the Past Year?
The second question is “What mistakes or regrets do you want to celebrate from the past year?” The idea here is to reflect on what didn’t go quite as planned and what did you learn from it. I’m actually struggling with this question because nothing is really jumping out at me. Then it occurred to me, that perhaps I’m not dreaming big enough. Maybe I didn’t try enough new things.
We need to get past our fear of failure or any fear really, because it may be holding us back from experiencing something extraordinary.
When it comes to my riding, I do have these regrets:
- My horse is healthy, but out of shape.
- Because a lot of my social life was related to my relationships with other competitors, I’ve lost touch with many of these people by not competing.
What Do You Want to Celebrate in the Coming Year?
The third question and the one most commonly asked at this time of the year is “What do you want to celebrate in the future?” You may have taken my mini course on goal setting and this is a great exercise to loosen those ideas about your wants and dreams. Many of us, especially when we have been taking care of others for years, forget about our own dreams and desires. This little course gets those thoughts and dreams going again.
This task, however, is not to make a list of goals, but to write a letter from yourself to yourself on December 31 a year from now. Write the letter as if everything that you set out to do this year, has already been accomplished.
For me, the paragraphs on my riding may look something like this:
“This year I continued my practice of getting up a 4:30 am, but added a 15 minute yoga routine that actually improved my fitness. I was able to maintain my weight goals by cutting out sugar and eating better food. These practices allowed me to gain strength and muscle tone. I noticed that I had more energy and stamina to ride and work with my horse.
I returned to the competitive cutting pen and was able to work with my trainer to develop a routine of training and practice that served both of us in terms of time and resources. This allowed me to compete in 6 competitive cuttings and practice on cattle between cuttings 2 to 3 times per month.
In addition, I finally got the tack room sealed to keep out unwanted critters and most of the dust. We completed replacing all the rotten board fencing and also had some fill brought in for some low areas that had developed on the property over the last 18 years.”
You get the idea! I am working on completing my letter and incorporating more personal and professional intentions. I will review this letter often to remind myself of what I intend to accomplish this year.
As a side note, I’ve actually used this technique this year in terms of my weight loss. I simply asked myself “Would future fit and firm Pam eat this donut?” The answer was almost always “no”.
I hope that you found the practice of asking yourself these three questions helpful. I’d love for you to join into the conversation and tell us some of your answers to these 3 questions. What are some of your biggest insights when reflecting on the past year? What do you hope to celebrate in the next year? Please share those in the comments and join the conversation!
Enjoy the Ride!