Note to Self – find the gains and the growth that’s worth counting and celebrating

We’re nearly there – at the end of another crazy covid year! Good riddance is what we’re saying, and for good reason – it’s been tough, in so many ways, on so many people. But rather than write the whole year off, let’s take a moment to reflect and ‘look for the good’ that has come from the difficulties. Note to Self can be a great tool to help us notice and celebrate the gains and the growth that has come from this year.

Drawing on the wisdom of Choice Theory, the 24 cards in Note to Self are designed to promote self-responsibility. They are reminders that can help us gain control over ourselves and our lives by focusing on what we have direct control over: our thoughts and actions.

Each card invites us to go within and discover what we didn’t know about ourselves, giving us a sense of empowerment and insight.

Note to Self is divided into six suits, each offers four statements and a set of questions to help us focus on the choices we can make.

From the Perspective suit, the card, ‘I appreciate what I have’ asks us not only to be grateful for the things we have gained, but to take it one step further and look for the positive in the so-called negative. It asks us to consider what we have learnt from difficulty, allowing access to the strengths we employed and the ways we have grown through this challenging year.

‘I learn from my experiences’ from the Practice suit can also be applied to this past year. By posing the first question as ‘Who or what have been my greatest teachers this year?’ we dive even deeper into the learnings that have occurred for us on a very personal level.

By then asking, ‘How can I keep that learning alive?’ we take the growth and make it tangible – it’s not just part of our evolutionary journey but something we can draw upon for future challenges.

Another card from the Practice suit, ‘I embrace life’ helps us to turn our attention to the importance of living in the present while also taking time to dwell favourably on the ways we were able to live life well when it felt and seemed so ‘bad’.

Naming what can be celebrated today turns our perspective around and puts us into a practice of gratitude and thankfulness – not just for what we have, but for who we have become.

Moving into a more optimistic groove, the Purpose card, ‘Opportunities surround me’ invokes a sense of positive potential and a more expansive mindset that heralds the dawning of a new year. Having taken stock of the gains, we put our attention on the present moment by asking, ‘What opportunities exist right now?’

The statements on the front of the cards can be treated as stand-alones, serving as powerful reminders that our life choices are in our hands. Statements like ‘Change is an opportunity’, ‘I’m in control of my wellbeing’ and ‘My life has meaning’ encourage us to stand in our own shoes and walk the next leg of the journey with agency, authenticity and purpose.

–by Gena McLean

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Find Your Way – grow through challenge and change to live a more meaningful life is Gena’s latest work – a compact book packed with warmth and wisdom.

The perfect complement to Note to Self, Find Your Way works as a companion for life’s journey. Change and challenge are what we’re all dealing with daily! And our inability to manage them effectively directly affects our wellbeing – our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. Find Your Way is for anyone who wants to meet change and challenge with awareness so they can navigate it more peacefully, consciously and compassionately.

Visit Gena’s website, Seeker & Sage to find out more or buy a copy of Find Your Way.

A pack of Note to Self and Find Your Way is available for a limited time here.