How Will I Live?

At the tail end of 2018 I lost a friendship I had thought would last a lifetime. Then, at the start of 2019 I lost my beloved cat, Hazel, when an aggressive tumor ravaged this once spirited girl well before her time. 

2019 was also the year I became a certified professional coach with a practice of my own. It was the year I began volunteering—and healing—at the city animal shelter. And the year I forged new friendships and nurtured old ones with people who lift me up in the best ways possible. 

Specifics aside, my year looked a lot like anyone else’s. It had its share of beginnings and endings, movement and stillness. It was messy, heartbreaking, glorious, routine.

As you prepare for this new year, I hope you’ll take time to think back. Reflect on all that has gone into your own journey in 2019. What did you celebrate? What did you mourn? What was surprising, exhilarating, draining, dull? Who was absent and who was by your side? 

Celebrate how all of this—the good and the bad—has shaped who you are. Celebrate that your experiences, examined, offer a chance for learning, healing, growth.

Then, think forward. As you make resolutions, ask yourself: How will I live? 

Take time to visualize in real detail what that life resembles. 

• What parts of yourself seek expression—and how might you unleash those? 

• What projects or adventures are you yearning to pursue—and how can you begin turning those images into plans? 

• What causes tug at your heart—and how can you get involved?

• How do you want to spend your time, and with whom? 

Get an image of how you, specifically, will live so that you connect with your vision, honor your values, free your passions, face your fears.  

Then go out and live your best imaginable life. Be your truest, most wonderful self. Surround yourself with kindred spirits. Laugh, love, climb, create, cry. Live.