How are you doing? It’s December! Not sure where the time went but gosh was it just me, or did 2022 just fly by like that? I have been away from the Newsletter for abit as I have been re-writing and pivoting my business a little and have finally gotten a breakthrough! Keep your eyes peeled for the next newsletter where I will reveal my plans for 2023 and how I can help you even more.

Usually at this time of the year, I love tying up loose ends for incomplete tasks – always wonder why I never could find the time in the 11 months prior – and I love just looking back at the year.

This year was much better than 2021 for me but there were also challenges. If you are still feeling exhausted from trying to get back on your feet and figure out a new “normal” way of living life post-pandemic, remember you aren’t alone in this struggle. Lots of things in life have been up-ended and disrupted, never to return to the pre-pandemic “normal” ever again – so there’s been a lot of picking up the pieces and figuring out how to proceed and where to go next.

I’ve experienced a good deal of ups and downs this year – attended 3 weddings, a funeral of a close relative, changed my day job again and had to question a lot of assumptions I had about myself, people, life and everything else.

In fact, the theme of my 2022 was – To bravely face up to my fears, childhood conditioning and expectations and question all the old beliefs/stories I had about myself/my love and to boldly flip the script and do things differently. I also feel called to step into a different role in my life, roles that I have been hiding from and avoiding for a long time. I’m not done with this – there’s still so much of “work” to do and to feel into. But I feel ready, and excited.

What about you – looking back, what is your theme for 2022?

I’ve traditionally tended to focus on the tangible things I’ve achieved in the year, but nowadays I’m way more interested in how I’ve changed as a person.

• Have I lived my life with regret these past 12 months?
• Am I hanging onto old beliefs and unhelpful behaviour?
• In what ways have I changed from the Sonia that I was on 1st Jan 2022?
• What is stopping me from living the life that I want and how can I do that in 2023?

I know that this year I’ve done a lot in

• Weeding out relationships and friends that don’t nourish me or my soul, people whose company I’ve not enjoyed
• Making new friends and forming new connections with people I align with
• Stepping into a leadership role at my day job – something I had so much fear around at first but have completely grown into it and really love it right now (I wished I had done it sooner)
• Questioning my beliefs around money and job status vs doing what you truly love for slightly lower pay
• Questioning my beliefs around romance and what is holding me back in relationships
• Being more vigilant about my health (and that of my family’s after the sudden death of a close relative)
• Choosing myself more. I’ve found that throughout my life, I’ve been abandoning myself quite a bit – always putting my hobbies by the wayside, prioritising other people’s tasks, sleeping late and not giving my body the rest it needs, consuming unhealthy stuff, being around people I didn’t like etc. I never really gave myself space to enjoy what I loved (disappearing into a good book, writing for hours on end, buying a nice dress I saw etc), but when I did – I felt like I was more “real”, more present
• Being myself more. I lived a lot of my life wanting to be small and invisible, but that meant that I kept my true personality hidden – always afraid of judgment and dislike. But I’ve been experimenting with showing sides of my character I’ve always kept hidden and it has drawn me to people (and vice versa) who like me for who I really am. It’s an amazing feeling to not have to hide myself. And the people that don’t like me? (Cause not everyone is gonna be a part of your tribe) They just fade out from my life, or we don’t connect, and that’s OK with me!

I suggest you explore these questions yourself as we close off 2022. Some of these prompts have also been very helpful.

I hope you are having a good start to the last month of 2022!