2020 Year of Mindfulness

Hey friends, Happy New Year!!!

The new year always brings lots of feelings for many people, including me. I can feel that I get a little anxious with the start of this new year and I tend to put a lot of pressure on my goals and the direction of my life. Although pressure is a good thing and helps drive us forward, it's important to also remember that patience and compassion for ourselves.

The last few years I have made themes for the year. So last year was about "Saying Yes to Myself", and 2018 was "Power of Positivity". This year, I have chosen another theme but this year I wanted to be a little more specific in my focus throughout the year.

Each month, I have a selected a more specific focus to enrich myself through daily practice and it has already made me more excited about each day of the year!

This year, I have chosen the theme of Mindfulness.

Being more mindful in what I give my energy to and being more mindful in how people are treating me. More mindful to what thoughts I am allowing or what words are coming out of my mouth. I want to be more mindful to how I treat my body and I view myself. This year will be a transformational year because I am accepting nothing less. I want to be more mindful of how I help my community and more mindful in how I treat my friends and family.

With each year, I learn more and more and trust myself more on the plan that I am setting. Not that I won't make any mistakes but I am certainly better at creating the plan to get to the goal, which I consistently demonstrate with my clients. Why should I be any different??

So I created a plan for the year of how to turn this general theme into a daily practice.

January- We're going with your #basic No Alcohol for January. I need me sober to be able to understand what I am practicing! Plus, it gives me some time to get myself ready and prep for the upcoming year.

February- After cleansing my system for 31 days, I decided it might be a great time to understand more about how to properly fuel it. So we're spending February cooking something everyday.

March- Now that we've taken care of the organs that keep us living and doing what we want each day, let's work on the mind. We're calling March, "(daily) Meditation March".

April- With spring, a new bloom, let's bring our attention to connecting our bodies and minds through daily self love. This could be a manicure/pedicure, a massage, a stretch session, a mask, a meditation, or date alone.

May- Let's bring out our expression through daily journaling, and hear what our minds are really saying.

June- With the beginning of summer, we need to go play outside and explore. So June will be a month of daily exploration, to a new place everyday.

July- Rounding more than half of a year with a newer sense of mindfulness, we will spend July expressing gratitude.

August- In August, we're going to pick up the physical practice into high gear and find a freedom in movement. Exploring free movement daily.

September- Because it's my birthday month, I want to spend the month being mindful of who I dearly love and who has helped shape me. Those who have been there for me and those who have made me better. I want to celebrate my tribe for the month of September.

October- As the year is rounding another corner, I want to remember to stay balanced. So we will practice a daily balance. Maybe literal, maybe in other ways.

November- The month of Thanksgiving, I want to spend giving my time and talent to the community. Donating what I don't use but more than that, giving my efforts to helping build up others.

December- Finally, with all the chaos that is the end of the year, I want to remember to stay grounded. So I want to practice daily stillness.

Now of course these aren't "typical goals" like, bench my body weight or do 5 pull-ups but I want to be a better person. And I wanted to spend time and energy trying to understand what I think that looks like and how to get there.

I mean, I also have "typical goals" but this year, I wanted to structure it differently than I normally do and see what happens.

Last year, I wrote out all the things I accomplished over the previous 12 months and all the things I learned. This year, I again, want to do it a little differently. Although I will go back over my past 12 months, I want to think more about what I realized, and what I practiced.

I think in the past, I have written about things that I have learned but I might have been misspeaking. I might have instead meant the things that I have realized. It is easy to look back on something and realize my actions may not have been appropriate or warranted. But did I really learn this? Or did I just realize that? So the things that I have practiced this year would actually be more or less the things that I have learned this year.

So 2019, I did practice saying yes to myself and going after what I wanted. I practiced introducing myself first more often than not this year- which came with huge realizations. In practicing saying yes to myself and possibly as I get a little older, I realized that I wanted to be more particular with my time. And with that, came the idea to practice mindfulness for this coming year. Not just saying yes to everything that I want in that moment or at that time. But being more mindful to the overall picture of what I want. To be more thoughtful in my responses and patient with myself about the underlying "why".

I hope everyone is preparing and setting onward to have the year of their dreams!!

If you want to ride along with me on this journey, I would love some company! And I'll be updating my IG @coachkwo with daily practice if you want to follow closer.

Happy New Year!!

<3 Coach Kwo