At the end of the year, I like to reflect on my milestones and learnings. Since 2008, I’ve done an Exploding Box as a visual representation of the year. It’s a fun way to commemorate the last twelve months. If you want to make your own, you can see me show examples and you can sign-up for instructions here.
There are also some other great ideas for reflection and intention setting in this Scoutie Girl post.
What I’m celebrating from 2011:
Career/Calling
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Personal Growth
- Painted and worked my way through a couple of dips and valleys post-book launch intensity
- Participated regularly in bi-weekly Nurture Huddle calls
- Continued to participate in high-end mentoring program and working individually with my business coach
- Worked with a personal coach in the summer
- Participated in Art Every Day month for the fifth year
- Journaled and read lots of books
Wealth & Abundance
- Exceeded my financial goals for the year – broke 6-figures
- Paid myself a few bonuses in addition to regular salary
- Kept up with monthly managing the moola
- Sold an old domain name = some nice unexpected cash!
Health & Wellbeing
- Stopped eating refined sugar in May (huge for this lifelong sweet tooth)
- Stopped eating gluten in October
- Started doing Pilates more regularly to help with my back
- Treated myself to getting a massage a few times (did a lot more of the short chair massages)
- Enjoyed naps in my hammock and dips in the pool
- Took most of September off
- Continued to honor my self-care Fridays
- Did intuitive painting at home
Relationships
- Brian and I went to Napa in the Spring
- Celebrated our 10th year wedding anniversary in Maui!
- My parents hosted a Book Party celebration for me with my friends and family
- My twin nephews visited overnight and we had fun playing Xbox Kinect together
- Had a family reunion where the elders shared stories of what it was like to be in Japanese internment camps during WW2
- Went to the Getty Museum with my parents
- Spent quality time with friends
- Had really nourishing calls with friends from my Leadership tribe
- 10th year of book club fun
- Connected more in-person with local creative peeps
- Met a lot of really cool people and online friends in-person at the World Domination Summit and got to stay with my college buddy Tsilli whom I hadn’t seen in years
Physical Environment
- Got a new washer and dryer (who knew it would be so life changing?!)
- Got a new refrigerator and got new storage containers
- Cleared out inventory in garage and sent to Solamar to handle fulfillment (a big step for me! Yay!)
- Had housecleaner come regularly
- Created an intuitive painting station in my kitchen nook
- Reorganized my office/creative space (added a chalk board and new white board, got a laptop stand)
- Cleared out closet and donated lots of items to Goodwill
Fun & Recreation
- Maui and Napa trips with Brian
- Visited Leah in Boston (3rd year in a row!)
- Went to Squam Art Workshops for 2nd year
- Went on fun lunch dates with friends
- Cuddling with our cute, old pooch Emmett
- Spent time in nature
- Worked in my art journal
- Continued to take photos via Instagram and went on photowalks in SF and Emeryville
- Two of my photos featured on book covers: Desire to Inspire by Christine Mason Miller and Creative Pilgrimages by Jenny Doh
My reflection questions:
What was the most exciting, heart-stirring thing that happened in your life and/or business this year?
One of the most exciting things that happened in my personal life this year was celebrating my 10th year anniversary with my husband in Maui. It was divine! In my business, the most exciting thing was having my book launch and seeing the positive impact its made on people’s lives all around the world.
How did you stretch yourself?
I stretched myself by putting myself out there in a bigger way with the launch of the book and in doing things like the video summit. I also stretched myself by deciding to work with a larger team to help me with my admin, fulfillment, and marketing. This was a much bigger investment than I’d had with my individual VA, but it was the right move to help grow my business. I also worked with a personal coach, something I hadn’t done in a few years.
What was your biggest learning?
One of the biggest challenges from this year was not anticipating the “postpartum depression” after my book launch. So my biggest learning is to build in lots of recovery time after I have really exciting or momentous milestones and to cut myself some slack. Dips and valleys are part of the learning process. Also, that I can build my confidence back up again by taking small steps.
What did you enjoy doing that you want to do more of?
I really enjoyed taking more quality vacation time with lots of pampering. I would love to do more of that next year!
What do you need to stop doing or let go of?
Stop feeling like I need to be perfect. Let go of my unreasonably high expectations. That will make room for more ease, flow, and grace.
What new opportunities are available for 2012 and beyond?
Continuing to grow my business in new and exciting ways, hosting another video summit, creating a mentoring program for creative entrepreneurs, developing new products and offerings, doing some home improvements, planning vacation time, spending quality time with Brian, friends, and family. And much more!
It’s Art Every Day Month! This will be my 6th year participating in my friend Leah Piken Kolidas’ annual challenge.
Sorry, this is gross, but it’s true and what we deal with most every day! The joys of having an old dog. Emmett’s doing good though for being 14 years young! He’s a sweetie.
The other day I received my new iPhone case from 
And here’s a shot of my case. I love it!
