Setting New Year’s Resolutions is pointless unless you do this…

“We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience.” ― John Dewey

A good friend just returned from a retreat in California; where she spent seven days (168 hours) in silence and mediation.  A totally unfathomable idea to most of us.

Vacations are for unplugging, relaxing and exploring right?

Yet, this is exactly the intent behind such a retreat.  To unplug from the everyday distractions that keep your mind focused outwardly.  To learn to relax into whatever you are experiencing in the present moment. And to explore the limitations these diversions place on not only your mind but on your life.

Ultimately the silence helps develop deeper insight and tap into the expansiveness available to you in every moment.

In essence, through becoming silent and practicing focusing within, the mind is being trained to decipher between external noise and internal truth.

Sometimes, the truth discovered is joyful and sometimes its painful. 

But it’s always helpful.

The problem, for most of us is that we never take the time to discover our own truth.  We skip reflection and jump straight into goal setting and planning without this very critical insight. We look to the year ahead and set resolutions, intentions and goals completely disconnected from ourselves and any understanding of what is really possible for us.

At the end of the year, between wrapping up projects, visiting family and friends and planning for the new year, it’s so easy to become disconnected and flustered.

This year it can be different.

As you head into the last two weeks of 2015…try consciously spending time in silence and reflection.  Here are four suggestions for how to do this without having to meditate.

Add more space into your days

Make listening to yourself a priority every day, even when  Set even five minutes aside to be quiet with yourself. Turn off all distractions and focus on your breath, journal, or go for a walk in silence.

Look back at where you’ve been.

Reflect on everything that you experienced this year, failures, accomplishments and the stuff you cant remember. Write down everything that stands out, then stand back and observe how each event contributed to where you are now.

I have a client who went through major upheaval this year, and as a result was initial considering the year a failure. Until she considered what all of this upheaval brought into her life and she realized this may have been one of the most transformative years of her life.

Take a moment to be grateful for the highs and lows.

Practicing gratitude even for the things you don’t feel grateful for produces a profound energy switch.  Embracing everything will remove the limitations that obscure the full range of possibilities that exist for you. In short – you are freeing yourself up to step into the new year believing in opportunity.

From this knowledge and understanding, choose where you want to head next year.

Leverage these insights and tap into your intuition to set goals for 2016.  Choose just a few meaningful things that you want to bring to fruition in your next year.  Post them somewhere in your regular line of sight (backdrop on your phone, at your desk, etc), share them with people you are close to, and intentionally open yourself up to the possibility over and over again.

These last two weeks of December are not write off weeks.  They provide the perfect space for you go within and set up your mind and life to take on 2016. It’s not easy to take this route, but the results will lead you further down your path.  If you get stuck, I’m here for you.