Barbara Schmidt's Blog, page 17

What is Your 2021 Intention?

Happy New Year dear friends!

I’m thrilled to enter this new chapter with all of you, I know that 2020 was quite challenging, so it feels exciting to begin a new chapter, with new intentions, new energy, and a renewed sense of optimism.

We ended last year in a very different way, we didn’t have the big parties and celebrations, so the beginning of this year might feel different for you. It does for me, at least. Even though everything feels very unfamiliar, it’s a reminder of just how fluid life is, how much change is possible, and how infinite the possibilities are. I was recently reading an article that was summarizing last year, and just how we experienced the unimaginable, in the worst of ways with difficulty, trauma, and loss. But in this same vane, it shows us that we, too, can experience the unimaginable, in the best possible ways. Life can surprise us, comfort us, and gift us, in so many ways.

This is the blessing and the curse of life. We experience both. Highs and lows. Happiness and sadness. Victory and defeat. Joy and suffering. Life is never just all of one experience, so we learn to maneuver each day with strength, faith,  and a strong foundation inside ourselves.

One of my favorite ways to connect with myself and map out a new chapter is to set an intention. We often hear much talk about New Year’s resolutions and goal setting, but I prefer a more aligned, gentler approach. I choose a word, that is almost like a theme that encapsulates what I would like to see for my year ahead. Last year I chose ease, which in hindsight, is pretty comical but also apt. In all the chaos, I had the reminder in the back of my mind that I wanted to approach absolutely everything, with ease. And that really helped me through so much of the difficulty. I believe when you choose a word life will give you an experience, every opportunity to practice living out your intention.

This year, my word is wonder. I intend to approach life with curiosity, excitement, and the hope of happy surprises. It feels grounded and light.

 

What word will you chose for 2021? Below are some samples you can choose from:

Love

Kindness

Compassion

Peace

Joy

Focus

Gratitude

Stillness

Acceptance

Trust

If you feel called, I’d love to hear what word you choose. I wish you all a very healthy, happy, and fulfilling 2021.

xo, Michelle

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My Year-End Ritual

Hello my dear friends,

I can hardly believe we are now in the last week of 2020. What a year it has been. There is so much that has transpired over these past 12 months, with so many challenges and suffering, but I am incredibly grateful for all of you, here in this community.

We are absolutely feeling a wide range of emotions as we start to think about letting 2020 go, and prepare our hearts for a new year in 2021, right?  With this in mind, I want to share with you how I, personally, will finish this chapter to find a sense of closure, meaning, purpose, and hope.

I really, really love to take the last week of the year to reflect and honor the time that has passed, and clear the slate for a new chapter to begin. This year, it feels especially meaningful for me to do so.

In this little ritual, I honor the good, the bad, and everything in between. I encourage you to try this, feel what resonates for you, and use this as inspiration for your own year-end ritual. I prefer to use my journal for this exercise, but feel free to approach this in whatever way feels meaningful for you.

Part One: Take an inventory of the highs. In this first section, call to mind everything and anything that went well for you this year. Ask yourself these questions:

What did I accomplish?  Where did I grow, personally?  How were my relationships? In what ways did I take care of myself and my boundaries? Sit with yourself and as you ask these questions, begin to notice what comes up for you.  It’s easy to think that this year was filled with everything wrong and in chaos, but when you take this moment of pause, you can start to notice the small moments of happiness, joy, and growth. Even though this year was incredibly difficult in many ways, when you dig a little deeper, you can find these silver linings. Notice how you feel when you recall and honor your successes.

Part Two: Remember the lessons learned. This year was filled with unexpected challenges, pivots, and collective trauma. I encourage you to honor yourself for your perseverance and resiliency in this section. Ask yourself these questions:

What did I learn from this unparalleled year? What makes me stronger? What changes will I make in the year ahead? We know that 2020 was not easy, but in difficulty lies strength and fortitude. Take heart in knowing that you will leave this year behind wiser, stronger, and with a deep will to persevere regardless of what happens in the external world.

Part Three: What do you wish to cultivate? In this section, allow yourself to tap into your desires, hopes, dreams and creativity. Ask yourself these questions:

How can I build from my successes of this past year? How will I use the lessons learned to propel me further towards my dreams? What pivots will I make as a result of all that has transpired in 2020, so that I can make 2021 more aligned, purposeful and joyful? Start feeling in to what you’d like this new year to look like, and allow yourself to experience that optimism and hope, in this very moment.

My deep desire and hope is that this little ritual will be helpful and meaningful for you. Again, with my whole heart, I want to thank you for being apart of this community during such a challenging time. When I went through my own personal year-end reflection, I really honed in on what it means to me to have such a steadfast, supportive community here. Now more than ever, it’s important to honor the spaces where you feel loved, seen, and heard, and I thank you so much for allowing me to have this space to do so. 2020 brought me to my knees in so many ways, but also showed me just how much I have to be grateful for. I look forward to seeing how we can move forward, collectively in 2021.

xo,

Michelle

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Managing Feelings During the Holidays

My dear friends,

I want to briefly check in with you all this week, as we are in the full throes of the holiday season! In normal times, the holidays can bring up a wide range of emotions that can often be difficult to manage at a time where it appears that everyone is so joyful. This year, I know these feelings are creeping in, even more so.

I want to give you four, hopefully helpful, reminders as we continue through the holidays, and as we start to close out this year. I offer you these reminders with the intention that you know that if you are struggling during these times, you are not alone, and that you have this community here to offer support, always.

1. Everyone has struggles. So often at the holidays our tendencies to compare ourselves to others kicks into over drive. We think that in this season, we have to have all of the external things that everyone else has, in order to feel happy, fulfilled, and content. I want you to remember that we never really know anyone else’s full life story and circumstance. Just because an external picture looks shiny and perfect, does not mean that there aren’t struggles behind the scenes. In fact, we all struggle, in one way or another. Gently remind yourself of this over these next few weeks, release the need to compare, and start to honor who you are, and what you have in this moment.

2. No feeling is ever final. Deep, dark emotional holes can feel endless, I know that feeling all too well. One of the things that helps me through difficult stretches of times, is remembering that feelings, the bad and the good, don’t ever last for too long. Remember, you’ve made it through everything that has happened in your life up until this very moment. These instances have made you stronger, wiser, and more connected to yourself. Know that whatever storm is in your life in this moment will pass, and sunnier days are always ahead.

3. You can find shifts, through healthy emotional expression. It’s incredibly important to recognize, process, and honor your feelings. At the holidays, we tend to stuff down what’s really up for us, under the false pretenses that we should just be happy. Just know that when you push down feelings and emotions, they will come back at some point. When I start to feel down about something, I like to have a conversation with myself about it. I ask myself questions. What’s really bothering me here? Is there anything I can do to change the energy of the situation? Can I take an action? What do I need to let go of? These questions give me clues as to how I can proceed. Often times, moving my body in a physical way, whether a walk outside or a little dance session at home, helps me to release any stagnation in my body and clear my mind of unnecessary story writing and anxiety.

4. You’re allowed to define what these moments mean for you. Given the extreme difficulty of this year, many of us feel enormous pressure to make the holidays extra special and magical. I invite you, here, to decide for yourself what the holidays mean to you this year, and know that you have full permission to do things completely differently. As we close this year out, it’s so important to really honor your emotional needs, because this year has been traumatic, to say the least. Let yourself off the hook from any obligations or pressures, and choose small joys to fill your days.

Lastly, above all else, remember that you are loved and you are worthy, always.

Sending all my love,

Michelle

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The Importance of Responsibility

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My Favorite Affirmations for the Holiday Season

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What Gratitude Means to Me

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What I’m Releasing in 2020

My dear friends,

It’s hard for me to believe, but we are starting to wrap up the 2020 calendar year. What a year, right? I know that this year has not gone as any of us planned, and it’s turned our lives upside down and made us question everything. 

I know we all have experienced our own personal traumas and tragedies as well as the collective. Tough times may make us feel down and broken in the moment, but I really do feel that the silver lining in these times, is,  that we gain knowledge, strength, and a new sense of resiliency that helps us to face the next new challenge with an ounce more grace and ease.

I’ve felt extra reflective this year, as I process all that has happened, and feel really tapped in to what I wish to release as we close out 2020.

That’s the beauty about difficulty, it shows us exactly what we don’t want, or what we wish to discontinue, and I believe that 2020 has been a perfect mirror for just that.

As this year nears completion, I choose to release…

…the desire to compare myself with someone else.

I really believe that we are all here for a unique purpose, and we are given special talents, gifts, and circumstances to help us fulfill it. How incredible is that when we think about it? Why should we ever try to compare our amazingly special selves with someone else? We tend to waste so much time in comparison, rather than honoring, owning, and cultivating the magic that is already within us. As we been a new year and a new chapter in 2021, it is my deep desire to keep bringing out my own sparkle, and allowing others to shine at the same time.

…the need to be on someone else’s timeline.

For so long I’ve felt that my life has to fit into other people’s preconceived notions and pre-planned timelines. My life never seemed to fit into these standards, and I would often feel bad about that. With the concept of timing being so upside down this year, I’ve really learned and embraced the concept that our lives are all on perfectly unique timelines. It’s futile to try to fit your life and your path into someone else’s ideals. Trust your life, the timing of it, and how it’s meant to unfold.

…the doubt and fear that comes with uncertainty.

What I know for certain is that we will never be able to control what happens externally. Life will always be unpredictable, sometimes chaotic, and with that brings a wide variety of feelings and emotions. Usually, the unknown and the uncertain bring up fear and doubt. Rather than perpetually thinking, “what could go wrong” I wish to reframe that and be curious about  “what could go right”. This helps me to feel stronger, calmer, and more at peace when managing whatever life presents to me, in any given moment.

I’d love to hear what you are starting to release as we close out 2020. Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments!

Xo, Michelle

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My Favorite Self-Care Practice Right Now

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35 Things I’ve Learned in 35 Years

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Finding Power in Solitude

Hello dear friends,

We all know that this year has presented so many unexpected challenges and difficulties. Life is simply different than it was nine months ago. We’ve really had to rely heavily on our self-care practices and our resiliency, and I just want to take this time to honor all of you for everything that you have gone through, and made it through to get you to this moment. I know that nothing in this year is easy, and I’m so grateful that you’re here.

One of the biggest challenges of 2020, is that we are alone a lot more than we are used to. Whether it’s being sequestered at home or distanced at an office, or even simply the fact that you are unable to see friends or loved ones, we are all reeling and coping with the fact that we are in our own presence so much more than normal times.

Being alone, and even being with people who make us feel incredibly lonely, brings up so many emotions and feelings. We can feel less than, unworthy, unwanted, we often compare ourselves to others, write untrue stories, and assume the worst about any given situation.

I used to really struggle with all of that when I was alone, I know exactly how it feels.  But this week, I want to remind you that on the other side of all those feelings and thoughts, is an incredible power and opportunity that we are given when we have time alone with ourselves.

When we are present with, and connected to ourselves, we start to establish a strong, rooted foundation within ourselves, that I know we all deeply desire. We start to listen, learn, and understand more about ourselves. We will find clarity and meaning, and we begin to feel more confident in who we are, and why we are here.

Solitude invites us to become aware of our thoughts and feelings, although this is scary, it is incredibly powerful and necessary to understand yourself and develop a relationship with yourself.

If you find yourself alone, use it as a time to empower you and strengthen you, while remembering that you are always loved and you are always worthy, even if there isn’t anyone else around you to tell you so.

May you find peace, purpose, and power in your presence, always.

xo,

Michelle

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