Take Stock: A New Year's Message

Every year I think about what advice to share as we complete another turn around the sun.  What can I write that will bring you more health, more joy and more ease?
 
There are so many possibilities – eat better, sleep more, find quiet time for meditation.  These are all good things, but I realized the magic missing ingredient in so many wellness and self-care programs is found in the act of taking stock.
 
It’s not enough to set goals.  We need to watch what happens when we put an idea out into the world.  We need to track our progress and record our thoughts and feelings each day.
 
I got this inspiration sitting at my desk, looking at my 2020 yearly planner.  It’s the place where I keep track of things.  Not my daily schedule filled with patient appointments, places to go and commitments to keep. These are stored electronically with a kind of efficiency only the digital world can provide.
 
In my paper planner, I write down goals and dreams, along with notes marking unexpected pleasures and themes for the month.  I use the planner as a journal of sorts, briefly recording my thoughts and feelings on a somewhat regular basis.
 
As I turn the pages, I’m able to look back and reflect. 

• January, February & March tell of the days before Covid when a trip to New York City to study the central and peripheral nervous system was still possible. 
• March is filled with canceled plans and an abrupt temporary closing of my practice. 
• April and May find me at home writing a food blog and missing my nephew’s college graduation. 
• From June to December, I return to some new normal – treating patients with masks and sanitizer. On days off, I make time to play in the mountains, lakes and rivers of this beautiful valley.

 
I might not have remembered any of this if I hadn’t jotted down notes as the year went by.  I barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday :).    So now I have this incredible gift – pages filled with remembrances, a record of days gone by.
 
As the new year begins, I recommend that you begin (or continue) to take stock.  Here’s how:

• Purchase a planner that you love!  You want one that feels good to look at and write in.  Here’s the one I bought. It has both monthly and weekly pages.
• Keep this book open on your desk or somewhere at home.
• Take notes, set goals and creatively doodle on the pages of this book.
• The healer in me recommends that you pick a health goal for each month. Keep it simple and sustainable.

 
At this moment, there is the initial pleasure found in the blank pages of the yearly planner that have not yet been filled.  It’s still an empty slate awaiting possibility.  You don’t yet know what the year will bring. (2020 taught us the role of the unexpected.)
 
You stand at this moment, closing one door and about to open another.  This is the time to dream, to imagine, to ask for the wishes that live deep in your heart.
 
Your yearly planner allows for this.  The empty pages are waiting to be filled with the moments & reflections that make up your life.  Write these down. Take stock. Be the creator of your life’s journey.
 
As we enter 2021, I send you blessings to guide you along the way.
 
Bonnie
 
Ps.  If this process sounds appealing, but you don’t have time to get a planner of your own, here's my Roadmap to Health Booklet/Calendar/Journal for you to print out.
 
And if you feel like you need help in the process of creating healthy habits for a healthy year, do get in touch to find out about my Roadmap to Health Wellness Counseling program.