Inspiration
"New Year's Day is everyone's birthday."
~ Charles Lamb
For more quotes like
this,
click here.
Speaking Schedule
Below is a list of where and when I'm speaking for the next few months. Most of these events are for my corporate or organizational clients (i.e. not open to the public). The ones in blue, however, are public events. I hope to see you at one of these!
1/4: Oakland, CA
1/9: Mountain View, CA
1/12: San Francisco, CA
1/17: San Rafael, CA
1/20: Sao Paulo, Brazil
1/23: Buenos Aires, Argentina
1/29: Davis, CA
2/3: San Jose, CA
2/10: Minneapolis, MN
2/15: San Diego, CA
2/16: San Diego, CA
2/17: Lodi, CA
2/19: Oakland, CA
2/22: Long Beach, CA
3/7: San Francisco, CA
3/11: San Francisco, CA
3/12: San Francisco, CA
3/18: Santa Rosa, CA
3/23: Las Vegas, NV
3/27: Sacramento, CA
3/28: San Francisco, CA
3/31: San Rosa, CA
For more public event details, click here.
|
|
December 28, 2011
In This Issue
Featured Article: Consciously Complete 2011
Recommended Resources
Daddy's Little Girls
Hey there! I hope you are doing well and enjoy this magical time of year. I especially love this week between Christmas and New Year's - one of my favorite weeks of the year, by far! I've been enjoying lots of down time, family time, and much needed time off this month. And, I'm starting to get excited about the start of the new year...how about you?
I've been sharing some of my favorite holiday themed articles from the past few years over the course of this holiday season. The article from a few weeks ago, "The Best Gift of All," got some nice feedback. If you'd like to re-read that piece you can do so on my blog. You can also listen to the audio podcast associated with it. You can also read it on a wonderful site called Owning Pink that I am excited to blog for.
This week's article, another one of my favorites from the past, is all about completing the year in a conscious and deliberate way. Before you go to a big party on New Year's Eve and even before you start on your new year's resolutions and goals for 2012, it's important to complete 2011 in a thoughtful way.
Thank you for all of your support this past year - especially with the loss of my mom in June. You have no idea how much it means to me to have you on my list, in this community, and in my life. Thank you for your interest and support of me and my work. I am deeply honored and grateful!
Happy New Year!
Consciously Complete 2011
(For this week's audio podcast, click here.)
These few days before the start of the New Year have a magical and sacred quality to them. I appreciate the lull in activity that often takes place this week and the opportunity we have to reflect back on the year that is ending, as well as to create new possibilities and intentions for the year that's about to start. It often seems more exciting to focus on our "resolutions" for the coming year than it does to look back. However, before we jump ahead and start making our goals for next year, it's essential that we complete the year that is about to end consciously.
As much as I personally love this completion process, I usually have mixed emotions reflecting back on the year. There is often excitement, gratitude, and joy for all of the wonderful accomplishments, experiences, insights, and more. There is also sadness, disappointment, and sorrow over the things that I didn't accomplish, the people and things I'll miss, and the places in my life where I struggled or failed.
This is as true as ever as 2011 comes to a close. This past year I've experienced some really big highs and some painful lows, especially with the loss of my mom in June. I'm truly grateful for all that I've learned and experienced, even with the pain and sadness I’ve experienced.
Due to the common mixture of emotions we experience and especially with a year like 2011 which created a lot of growth opportunities for most of the people I know and work with, it's essential that we embrace and practice the art of completion. Completion is a conscious process we engage in whereby we do and say whatever we need to in order to create a true sense of closure to an experience (in this case, the year that is about to end).
Because we often have resistance to authentically celebrating and appreciating ourselves, reflecting honestly on our accomplishments or our failures, acknowledging our real results or lack thereof, grieving loss with depth, and more - we usually just roll through the end of things and either avoid completion all together or move onto the next thing as fast as we can. When we do this, however, we miss out on a sacred and important process.
Completion allows us to bring things to a close with a sense of gratitude, reverence, and peace. When we allow ourselves to experience a sense of true completion, we move into the next phase of life bringing with us the gifts, lessons, accomplishments, experiences, and more from what we've just been through. When we don't take the time to truly complete something, we end up carrying baggage, regrets, fear, and unresolved issues into our next experience. These things don't serve us and often end up undermining our success and fulfillment.
As we get ready for 2012 and begin to think specifically about what we want to create and experience in the New Year, one of the most important things we can do is to complete 2011 in a conscious and powerful way.
Completion Questions
Here are some questions you can ask and answer yourself, as a way to create a sense of completion for 2011:
1) What were my biggest lessons in 2011?
2) What am I most proud of from this past year?
3) What were my biggest disappointments in 2011?
4) What am I ready to let go of from this past year?
5) What else do I need to do or say to be totally complete with 2011?
As you take some time to think about and write down your answers to these questions, see if you can reflect on this past year with a sense of appreciation and empathy. The word "appreciate" means to recognize the value of (not necessarily like, agree with, or want to experience again). Whether your year was "wonderful," "terrible," or somewhere in between - we each have so much we can appreciate about this past year. And, it's important for us to have as much empathy as we possibly can for ourselves (and those around us), especially right now.
If you're anything like me, you probably had some big failures or disappointments this past year – or maybe even some painful losses. When we can remember that we almost always do the best we can with what we have in each moment of our lives, we can hopefully let go of our feelings of shame, guilt, or embarrassment over any of the things that didn’t go as planned for us in 2011. And, you probably had some incredible things happen in your life this past year as well. It’s important that we acknowledge ourselves for all of it - the highs and the lows.
See if you can create some sacred time in the next few days to share your answers to these completion questions with some of the important people in your life (and maybe ask them to answer these questions as well). By creating a conscious intention for completion, you will give yourself the gift of appreciation for this past year and in so doing, allow a space to open up in which you can create your goals and intentions for 2012 with a sense of peace, power, and clarity. And, as you ponder these questions, you may realize that there is something important you want to do or say in order to leave 2011 behind and step into 2012 with freedom and passion.
Have fun with this. And, congratulations on completing another year of this magical, bizarre, wonderful adventure we call life - what a ride!
How will you consciously complete 2011? What can you do or say to leave 2011 behind you in a powerful, authentic, and peaceful way? Share your ideas, commitments, thoughts, dreams, and more on my blog here.
To listen to this week's audio podcast, including additional thoughts, ideas, and tips, click here.
Coaching Session with Me to Create 2012
 I'm offering a limited number of one-on-one coaching sessions for people who really want to get 2012 off to a successful start. In our coaching session, we'll discuss your top lessons from 2012, what you want to let go of, your main intentions for 2012, and design an action plan and strategy for you to manifest your most important goals and desires in the New Year. To schedule a session with me (the first week or two in January), reply to this email (mike@mike-robbins.com) to inquiry about remaining slots and setting up a session.
Michelle Robbins - Life Coach and Hypnotherapist
 Michelle is an amazing coach and hypnotherapist. Of course I'm a little biased, due to the fact that she's my wife. Truly, she is one of the most powerful coaches I know and her clients absolutely love her. Michelle had just recently re-launched her coaching and hypnotherapy business, updated her website, and is taking on a small group of new clients...which is very exciting! She specializes in working with women who want to fully step into their power - in their relationships, with their work, in their bodies, and more. She also supports women in creating the relationship of their dreams (whether they are in a romantic relationship or not). And, Michelle is an incredible hypnotherapist who supports people to move past sub-conscious blocks (smoking, eating, fear, and more). If you or anyone you know is looking for a great coach or hypnotherapist, check out Michelle and feel free to contact her via her new website, www.michelle-robbins.com.
Thinner Peace - Group Coaching Program with Michelle Robbins & Ali Berlin
 Our dear friend Ali Berlin, in collaboration with my wife Michelle, have created a powerful group coaching program for women called "Thinner Peace." This 4-week program is designed to support women in creating a healthy relationship with food and with their bodies. Michelle and Ali are expert coaches and healers who love working with women and empowering them to love, accept, and appreciate all of who they are. Get 2012 started in a healthy and inspiring way by being a part of this extraordinary program. For more information and to secure your spot, click here.
"Congratulations on completing another year."
- Samantha and Rosie
|
