2021 Can Only Get Better!
2021 is finally here! 😍😄 With all that was happening in 2020, many were keen on leaving the old year behind: COVID-19, worldwide lockdowns, travel restrictions, a terror attack in Vienna, police brutality against African Americans, presidential elections in the U.S. Feel free to complete the list with the personal challenges you faced.
HOWEVER, I’d recommend you start a new list! ❤️✨ Why? 😇
Because, what YOU focus on, will grow - simply because you choose to give energy to it. This energy is like FOOD for our brains. It uses our thoughts to create growth and to build new brain structures. This means that whatever you think becomes a literal substance in your brain! You first think it in your mind, then you grow it in your body (brain). It’s not the other way around. Your brain doesn’t tell you what to think. YOU tell your brain what to build! 😮
When I first heard about this, I was shocked! And then, on top of this already astounding insight, I was taught that MY thoughts produced my feelings. 😮😮😮 So, whenever I felt an uncomfortable feeling like fear or being overwhelmed, these emotions were not floating around because THEY chose to, but because I, MYSELF, chose it through my thinking! How? To put it very simply: The protein structures that we build into our brains through our thinking, release chemicals. When these chemicals are released, we feel them.
I’m not saying that something is wrong with you because you feel grief, sadness, anger, fear or whatever emotion. In fact, I’ve felt all of them within the last three days! 🤣🤣🤣 But when we realize that those feelings are actually MESSENGERS for something going on in our minds and hearts, it can give us a sense of (positive) control and great hope. It’s never a good idea to simply push negative emotions down or away. But we can look at the root of a negative emotion and deal with it in a new, empowering way. We can change our perspective on purpose. We can turn our pain into freedom.
Changing our mindset is a process. Sometimes, we see (and even feel) immediate results, but mostly we need to train our brain over time in order to form new thinking habits. This might sound like a lot of work, but it’s actually the most relaxing thing you can do for yourself. 🥰 And believe me, you can feel a lot LESS of these overwhelming emotions if you choose purposefully what you focus on.
This is something that I have not only observed countless times in my clients, but I’ve also experienced first-hand in my own life (that’s why I’ve started to pass it on to others in the first place! 😄). For the last four years, I’ve been working with practical tools to shift my thinking from a lot of negative junk to truth, empowering faith, (self-)love and hope. I can’t even START to tell you how much this has changed my life for the better!!! 💯💖💃🏻 For instance, although 2020 was FULL of craziness, challenges, restrictions, changes and global uproars, there has never been a year in which I felt more at peace. It truly was a year of breakthrough and newly found freedom that I had never tasted before. Accordingly, it was the first time in my life that I started into a new year filled with such expectation and excitement - and an unusual lack of fear. As I used to be worried and anxious ALL THE TIME in the back of my head, this is a personal miracle for me that I’m SUPER thankful for. 😍🙏🏽
I can’t wait for all the great things to unfold in 2021. Yes, challenges WILL continue to come because a positive and faith-filled mindset does not make ALL our problems disappear (many of them do go away, however 😉). It might sound weird, but in some way I’m even looking forward to new challenges. For one, I’m ready to get out of my comfort zone and GROW beyond the familiar. Secondly, I’m SO ready to see AGAIN and AGAIN how God will use all the crap that I will go through and make the greatest fertilizer out of it. 🤣🙈 He really does!!!
So, if you’re ready, let’s start to create a new list. You can ask yourself these super simple, yet powerful, questions. Reflect on each of them in some personal or quiet space for at least five minutes. Write down whatever comes to your mind. Nothing is unimportant or too small. Feel free to draw or mindmap if this suits you better.
🌱 What am I thankful for that happened in 2020?
🌱 What made my heart glow?
🌱 What did I learn?
Do the same for the new year:
🌱 What am I looking forward to in 2021?
🌱 What do I want to invest more of my time and energy in?
🌱 How can I show myself some solid self-love and self-care this year?
Take your new list and pin it somewhere. You can read through it again in the future. You can also take a few minutes every day to either pray about your 2021 dream list and receive new inspiration, or simply ponder which practical steps you can take today to living that very dream. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It’s the little steps AND THOUGHTS that count and make true change happen. ❤️✨ If you have difficulty shifting your focus or feel like your brain is a mess, feel free to contact me through the contact form of this website. Together, we’ve got this! 💃🏻💪🏼💯
And now have a HAPPY NEW YEAR, y’all!