I always find the space between Christmas and New Year a bit… odd.  It’s a time for looking back on the year that has passed , and a time for looking forwards to what we want the coming year to bring.  I never really feel fully in the moment – almost like I’m in floating in limbo.  The atmosphere in my head is a curious mixture of quiet reflection and excited anticipation, leaving me feeling mildly unsettled.  As a result I’m doing the only thing I know what to do in order to sort out my thoughts and feelings and settle myself down again – I’m writing about it.

So, looking back.  What did 2013 hold?  What did I achieve?  What happened that influenced that paths I chose to take and the directions I decided to travel in?

Professionally, 2013 was a big year.  In April I launched my practice at Harley Street – it was a real leap of faith and I had absolutely no idea whether it would work, whether I would get enough clients to justify the extra expense to my business and being away from home more than the girls are used to.  I purely and simply went with my gut instinct and when the opportunity came up I grabbed it with both hands.  I’ll admit that I wobbled – wondering whether I had made the right decision, was I really the right person to do this, should I just stay nice and safe with what I know instead of trying new things and pushing myself further?  Fairly quickly I managed to stabilise that wobble as the word spread and the clients came in.  Now I can’t imagine not doing it.

2013 also saw me: expand my practice to include Supervision for other hypnotherapists; join the Quest Institute Research Project; train as a Lovebirds Relationship Coach; connect with Body Gossip and become one of their Ambassadors; and successfully give a talk at an Eating Disorders Support Group for Carers.  (That last one was a bit of a personal achievement as well – I don’t really like standing up in front of people to speak, so to give a talk to 30 strangers was pretty nerve-wracking, but I did it).

On a personal level, 2013 has been pretty special for many reasons.  We had our first family holiday for almost four years, which helped me to realise just how vital it is for my health to have some downtime and sunshine.  We did the ‘Summer of Fun’ project, which was all about quality time with my girls and letting myself enjoy things as much as they do.  I’ve also made a big effort to really connect with family and friends who are important to me that I don’t get to see as often as I would like – we all lead busy lives and sometimes forget how important it is to check in from time to time and let them know that you’re thinking of them.  This was highlighted all the more when my beloved Nana passed away – yet another reminder that life is short and that you have to grab every chance you can create to make the most of it.

This year was also a super-special Christmas for me, because my partner of 9 and a half years unexpectedly proposed!  We are planning to get married in 2014 – our 10th anniversary year.  We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs over the years and the strength of our relationship has only increased over time.  I’m proud of how far we have come together, and confident that the next chapter of our journey will contain many special moments (and challenges) as we continue to help each other grow.

Ultimately the theme for 2013 for me has been all about two things: trust and courage.

Trusting that I’m making the right decisions for me and my little family and that every move I make will be a step in the right direction for where I want to be.  Trusting that I can make everything work out in the way that I want it to.  And trusting in myself that I’m good enough to do all the things I want to do.  Courage to do the things that seem to be beyond my capabilities, courage to try new things, courage to do things that I wouldn’t normally do.

And now, looking forwards to 2014.

I don’t really ‘do’ New Years Resolutions.  I have done in the past – some I’ve kept, some I haven’t – but I think that I’m beginning to realise that actually it’s more about being more of the me I want to be.

I’ve got a lot of exciting stuff coming up in 2014: I’m auditioning to become part of the Quest Training Team; I’ve applied to do some work with Kids Company, a London-based charity that works with disadvantaged kids; and I’ve got a wedding to plan!  And those are only the ones I know about – who knows what other opportunities I can create, what other possibilities could come into existence, just because I’m willing to be open to what might happen.

All of these are completely beyond my usual comfort zone, far surpassing the boundaries of safety that I usually give myself – they are all going to challenge and stretch me in completely different ways.  And it’s scary.  And exciting.

It’s going to be an adventure.

And so that is going to be my theme for 2014 I think – being open to adventure.

I found this quote on Pinterest, which I think sums up what I’m trying to say perfectly:

So how about you?  What did 2013 represent for you?  What did you learn about yourself?  What did you achieve?  What mistakes did you make?  How can you use all of that to help you grow?  What are your goals for 2014?  What do you want to happen?  How could you influence the possibility of that happening?  Who do you want to be?

I’m curious to know your thoughts and feelings about the year you’ve had and the year ahead that you want to have, what (if any) resolutions you’ve made and how you are going to go about achieving them, and what you’ve learnt from this blog that might help you do that.  So please feel free to leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you 🙂

In the meantime, I would like to say thank you to those who have faithfully read my blog over the last year and given me support just at the moments I’ve needed it most – you know who you are.  And I would like to wish all of you a happy and peaceful 2014 that becomes everything you want it to be.

Let the adventure begin… 😉