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The year has come to an end. I hope we are all well rested and looking forward to doing some amazing things in 2017 both on the professional and personal front.
I’m sure we all stood up more times than we stumbled in 2016, had some teachable moments and came out better stronger women. Here are my top lessons for going into 2017, and the list I’m going to continuously refer to.
1. On being enough There is a difference between wanting to thrive and reach for more and not being enough. The latter comes from a place of inadequacy while the former comes from a place of abundance and the acknowledgement that there is still so much more we can impact, that we can contribute to and that we can conquer. The messaging around us can lead us into the vicious patterns of comparison, and feeling like we are not enough: successful enough, skinny enough, smart enough, independent enough. Remind yourself, every day, that you are enough.
2. On letting go Relationships whether business or personal, failures, slights, the stories we tell ourselves. I realised that as critical as we are towards others, we are the most critical of ourselves, beating ourselves down for perceived wrongs. Be gentle with yourself, you are a work in progress, forgive yourself over and over again. And let go of destructive people, things and ways of being.
3. On shame vs guilt So I stumbled a number of times, made some really dumb moves, went against my values on a number of occasions. That is less important than the lessons I learnt, than the teachable moments I had and that my decision to be better next time.
It is the difference between shame and guilt. Shame is the assertion that you are a failure and that you are a bad person. Guilt is the acknowledgement that you did not show up at your best, it focuses on the behaviour than on you and makes an effort to bring your best, every time. Choose to knock what you did, not who you are.
4. On gratitude There is always something to be grateful for, every single day. Choose optimism, positivity and gratitude instead of the latter. And every day, keep moving forward.
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