How To Finish The Year Strong

Is the year basically over?

Once October hits, it’s easy to think of the year as pretty much over. As soon as pumpkin spice lattes make their debut, all I want to do is finish the year curled up with a good book, soup simmering on the stove, and Christmas lights dancing in the distance. I can’t tell you how many times I have said to myself, “girl, January is basically here. You might as well just put off that dream or goal until then.”

But hold on! There are still 14 days left in 2021. And that is a gift. These remaining days are a treasure trove of time, and they are definitely NOT the time to put off any goals that have gotten dusty since you set them. As much as cozying up on the couch appeals, we still have work to do! So let’s get doing.

“A year from now you will wish you had started today.” ~ Karen Lamb

Revive your goals for this year.

How do I start now, you ask? How do I motivate? We believe a good old fashioned reboot is the best way to get started. You have to get “back to the basics” of what your original goals were. Follow along with our 7 day reboot – a “Back To The Basics” map for you to finish the year and kick off the next at it’s highest potential.

Day 1… Let Go of Regrets

We need to practice the art of letting go because, as we know, practice makes perfect. Forgive yourself for whatever you need to right now. Breathe in any disappointment or judgement you put on yourself. Breathe in the food choices you regret, or the poor choice of words you unwillingly had with your husband or kids. Breathe in the dirty kitchen, the unwashed laundry. Then exhale, and send those thoughts as far away as you can. Let them go.

Now breathe in this beautiful, messy, adventurous, unique, and magical life that is all yours. It’s all yours. Embrace it!

Day 2… Reset Your Goals

Take a few minutes today and revisit your goals for the year. Getting back to the basics means constantly reminding yourself of what you truly want. Start by writing down your “Perfect Day.” If you could craft your perfect day, what would it look like? Where would you live? What does your house look like? What are you doing throughout the day? Be specific and dream big as you do this. Make it so descriptive you can taste and smell that life.

Really feel the excitement as you think about how it would feel to live this day. Read over what you’ve written, and start to figure out what is missing from your life that you’d love to include. Now you can take proactive steps toward adding in the good stuff.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” ~Tony Robbins

Day 3… Reboot Your Health

Getting back to the basics in your body is just as important as in your soul. What kind of body reboot can you make a part of your life, starting today? Need some ideas? Go to a yoga class. Choose to get rid of a processed food in your diet, like chips or crackers. Commit to drinking half your body weight in ounces of water each day. Do 50 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and 10 minutes of stretching every day.

Pick one thing and notice how you feel as days begin to pass. Keep a journal so you can go back and read for yourself how much your body is thanking you. Dedicate this reboot to the strong, feminine, goddess, warrior body that has carried you and your babes this far in life. Honor that body. Cherish that body. And rock that body today.

Day 4… Embrace Your Unique-ness

“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress, simultaneously.” ~Sophia Bush

Everything about you is unique. Your kids, your home, your husband…your dreams. Today, I challenge you to embrace that uniqueness. There is so much freedom in finally accepting yourself for the one of a kind, unconditionally loved person you are. Stop trying to fit into any kind of mold or group or category and be blessedly free. Be quirky. Be you. Remember yourself as a child—before the expectations of life crept in. Journal about that person. Come back to that fabulous, independent heart. And then accept that you are a masterpiece that is just getting better and better!

Day 5… Set Your Foundation

Basic: Forming an essential foundation or starting point. (Oxforddictionaries.com)

In order to be unmoved by the things that do not bring you joy and inspiration, you have to work on your foundation…you have to form an essential foundation. What is elementally you? Who did you want to be when you grew up? Are you anything like that person now? Do you even want be? What do you believe in? Ask yourself these questions, and write down your answers. Get clear on the type of foundation you want to build your life on.

Day 6… Practice Gratitude

“In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you.” ~Andrea Dykstraf

Every blessing, heartache, or challenge has made you the woman you are. Don’t waste one more second on hate. Find the gratitude. Search for it as desperately as one searches for a soulmate. Do not let regret rule your day. Because one day soon you will be navigating these waters with your daughter or son. And we must teach those precious souls strength, courage, and endless optimism.

So pull out your journal and write down the people, things, or circumstances that you are feeling ill will toward. Now write down things about that person or situation that you can find gratitude for. That you can forgive yourself for. That you can gain strength and wisdom from.

Day 7… Be Creative

Choose your own back to basics theme today. The options are endless…Make a green smoothie. Do sun salutations. Fix a big green salad for dinner. Drink hot water with lemon. Watch a feel good fall movie. Wash your bed sheets. Light candles all throughout the house.

Get to your yoga mat, do some short meditations or journaling, and take some time to be by yourself so you can hear your own heartbeat. Come back to your basic soul, and remember how powerful you are. Before mom, before sister, before wife, before friend…you were just you. Unique and lovely and intriguingly…you.

Recharge and re-center yourself.

A full week of recharging and centering is important. It’s incredibly therapeutic and extremely soul satisfying. You can still kick booty in the last months of this year. And that will feel fantastic when the new year comes!

The Daily Soul Sessions tribe consists of 3 sisters – Kate, Kacey, and Kara Coppola. Our mission is to offer a consistent – and short! – daily practice for moms to come back to themselves and find creativity and inspiration through the grind of motherhood. We do this through our books (The Daily Soul Sessions For Every Mama and The Daily Soul Sessions For The Pregnant Mama), our 30 Day Journaling Challenge for Moms, and our social media tribe!  Let’s THRIVE, not just survive, mama…come join us! Learn more here: www.thedailysoulsessions.com