MAKING 2012 YOUR BEST YEAR YET

One of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver, once posed the poetic question, “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?” I have found this to be a wonder-filled, thought and action-provoking question, and one that is particularly poignant as we leap into 2012 (which coincidently happens to be a Leap Year).  Another similarly provocative question that I like to ponder around the New Year is, ‘What would you do if you had no fear and you knew that you could not fail?’

A colleague of mine (and an excellent writing coach), Andrea Costantine, recently asked the question, “What would it take to make 2012 your best year yet?”  As I consider my answer to this question, I recall the notion that what you focus on expands. In other words, if I focus on what I fear, or what I don’t want (my “NO”), I will tend to move in that direction, and that will play a large role in determining what I create and draw into my life. If, on the other hand, I focus on what I love, on what is life-affirming, and on what I do want in my life (my ‘YES!’), that will be the direction I will tend to move. As my daughter, at age 4 wisely proclaimed, “Peace attracts peace.”

 With this in mind, I challenge you to consider the following questions:

• What is your vision of the best year ever?
• What would you do if you were to focus on what you truly want in your life in 2012? How might that look, feel, sound?
• Who is the person you will need to be or become in order to bring this vision into reality?
• What support might be helpful (e.g. a friend or relative, a coach, a therapist) as you stretch into your new vision?

 As you enter the portal of this New (Leap) Year, I invite you to discover your “YES!!!” and then take the leap!

~ Suzanne Mariner 

4 Responses - click here to join the conversation to “MAKING 2012 YOUR BEST YEAR YET”

1. Karen McGee says:

   January 3, 2012 at 4:51 pm

   Great questions and ideas. I particularly like the idea of identifying the “YES” and focusing there instead of focusing on the “NO”.

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2. Judi Spendelow, PsyD says:

   January 3, 2012 at 7:27 pm

   Great initial question to get us all visioning! And I really like the focus on expanding that which draws us, rather than expanding the fears that inhibit us. Thanks, Suzanne!

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3. John Mariner says:

   January 3, 2012 at 8:47 pm

   Great questions, Suzanne. I love Mary Oliver. Thanks for referring to her. The New Year awakens us hopefully to new possibilities.

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4. Mary S. says:

   January 8, 2012 at 5:43 pm

   I agree with Suzanne about focusing on what I want in my life vs what I don’t want. I see it as a question of being grateful for the good rather than resenting that which I don’t like. That keeps my energy positive and helps me build on what I already have. Of course, I also need to figure out how to shed or let go of the things in my life that do not feed me.

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