by Leezá Carlone Steindorf

How to create from Your Strengths and Joys

In reviewing the past we often note only what hasn’t worked, was painful or what we see as failure, not because we’re negative or want to suffer. Those experiences stand out because they impact us powerfully, they often trigger our self-judgment, and too often serve as reminders and motivators to assure that doesn’t happen again. Sadly, then, experiences we wish hadn’t happened or that we could re-do unintentionally become our guideposts moving forward.

In stepping into anything new – a job, a relationship, a day or year – we have the choice of what we bring with us and what we leave behind. Giving that choice intentionality hands us the power to create that new according to our desires. It’s like dropping a pebble into clear water. If you drop it at the edge of the water, the ripples soon meet their bank and can go no further. Drop it in the shallows amongst surfacing stones and the ripples are hindered in their flow and expansion. Yet, if you drop it in the sweet spot of clear, open and deeper waters, the ripples will flow as far and wide as the size of the pebble you chose.

Now, imagine instead of remembering and trying to avoid the pitfalls and disappointments of your past year you take the gifts they offered and leave the rest behind. And then you outline all the strengths of your last year – your successes both personal and professional, the things you did well, (like running a race, starting a hobby, changing a habit), the relationships that grew (new friendships, letting go of ones that didn’t support you) and the personal growth you’ve achieved (silencing the inner critic, eating healthier, doing self-care). What if you list your strengths, joys and positive experiences you’ve had and choose to use them as the stones to start new ripples moving into your new year?

Try it out. Go through your calendar from last year and review the events that you celebrated and the goals you accomplished, sift through the memories of your heart and capture the experiences that make you smile and feel uplifted in your inner world. Ask your friends what they saw you accomplish and celebrate, Then capture those events as your ripple starters.

Capturing the smile-inducing, self-valuing experiences will create clear and far-reaching ripples as the starters for your new year. They will allow you to create fresh, new experiences as each new thought, new day, new encounter ripples out far and wide. And you do not have to wait 12 months, or even 12 minutes, to become your own intentional ripple creator. You can start new ripples at any time, even this very moment …