Everywhere I turn, reflection is in front of me—from Instagram and Facebook posts, and opening holiday cards with growing and changing families to the business planning for 2025 based on what happened in 2024. There’s a year full of milestones that remind me of how time flies by: my youngest graduated high school and went away to college thereby making my husband and I empty-nesters; our oldest finished his last day of college; my 50th birthday happened, and we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. It’s been a year of growth for sure. Growth for myself as a wife, mother and business owner, and growth for my children as they take a new step forward in their lives.
This past year I focused on personal growth by tackling my Miracle Morning, almost every day of the year, and reading about personal development. (Check out “The Miracle Morning” book and app for this practice if you are interested in starting your Miracle Morning.) By following some specific steps every day—Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading and Scribing (S.A.V.E.R.S.)—you keep your priorities in front of you to reach your personal/professional goals. It’s so simple, it’s ridiculous! Through all the growth I have experienced this past year, I LEARNED that my morning practice helped me cope with the challenges that happen in life. And, more importantly, I am learning about the growth that happens because of the journey. It really is a process.
“If more people could understand the power of positive visualization, we could really change lives!”
The Silence aspect of this practice was really just quiet time in the morning. I really took advantage of making this practice my own, and could work on utilizing this more purposefully in the future. Sitting idle is not something I am good at, or even wish to be. It reminds me of Julia Roberts’ character in “Eat, Pray, Love” where she struggles to meditate for any period of time. I have a long way to go with this one, so let’s see what happens in 2025! If you have some helpful tips on this step that have worked for you, send me an email.
Affirmations have been a constant in my life as my mother would give me cute little books full of inspiring quotes as a young girl. One of my favorite books was “Softly in Silver Sandals” by Flavia. My mother probably doesn’t even remember giving me this book or how the words comforted me as a young person. Those simple gestures really made a positive impact in my life, because these little books provided the words I wanted to believe about myself and the relationships I wanted to have with others. When I look back, it was a way of manifesting what I wanted in life. And as I look back at my affirmations of 2024—some I wrote myself and others I collected off of Pinterest and Instagram—I can tie them all together to the success of the year.
The affirmations led to significant Visualization as I imagined the feelings and events that I dreamed of for 2024. Long before reading “The Miracle Morning,” visualization was something taught to me in the hallway of Chatfield Senior High School before a
volleyball match by my coach, Frank. He was just a young person himself, probably 23 years old, as he had our freshman team sit and close our eyes while visualizing a perfect volley, set and serve. He was so cute that we did whatever he asked of us, and thankfully this was very appropriate and a new skill for what would become a regular practice in volleyball, soccer and my business. As a high school soccer coach now, I understand the positive impact of Visualization. It’s one of those things that happens on and off the field. It’s a mental piece of the game that makes a huge impact before the game starts. Becoming a great player is not only about scoring goals and winning, but in the work off the field—the visualization of how to handle the ball, where to move, and understanding where everyone else will be at any given time. Did you know that an individual player may only handle the soccer ball for 2 minutes during a 90-minute game? That means the majority of the game time they are moving around the field in anticipation of receiving the ball. Similarly in life, we are thinking about work, relationships and hobbies significantly more than we are actually participating in those activities. If more people could understand the power of positive visualization, we could really change lives!
Changing my perspective about Exercise this year has been refreshing because it was more than just wishing or visualizing a fitter “me.” As someone who has struggled with what I thought I should look like since I was 11 years old, I realized I have shamed myself way too much for way too long about my weight. This step in the Miracle Morning seemed to be the most daunting as I thought I would have to work out for an hour every day of the year, 365 days. So I started off feeling quite overwhelmed and progressively allowed myself some grace to have a new perspective about exercising on a daily basis. Instead of focusing on my illogical and rigid idea of what Exercise should be, I relaxed and modified the idea. Exercise eventually became any of these activities: stretching for 15 minutes, going on a walk, paddleboarding, golfing and, of course, Jazzercise. Ironically, I ended the year reaching a new goal of 200 Jazzercise classes and completing my first hike to the top of Lion’s Head at Staunton State Park. My hope is that you read this article and know that you can simply adjust the way you think of hard things with a simple modification and make them possible!
One of the most impressive authors I Read this year was John C. Maxwell, whose inspirational speech at a business conference this past fall encouraged me to purchase several of his books on Audible. A memorable story he shares is about leading his family, specifically his children, through life’s experiences and challenges. He mentions that he used to ask his children what they Loved and Learned after an experience. It was this type of judgement-free question that allowed his children to reflect on their own experience and what they learned from it. Michael Bungay Stanier says, “People don’t really learn when you tell them something. They don’t even really learn when they do something. They start learning, start creating new neural pathways, only when they have a chance to recall and reflect on what just happened.” This question resonated with me so much that it became the question my family discussed around the Christmas dinner table a couple days ago. My purpose is to share what I learn with the people I love, hoping it will make a positive impact in their lives.
The final step of the Miracle Morning is Scribing, and just like writing this article, writing out your thoughts and feelings can move you forward with your hopes and dreams. I hope you can take some time to answer the questions below that provide some insight to your life and the opportunities you can create for yourself if you take some time for YOU. Jay Papasan, author and corporate speaker, has a weekly e-newsletter in which he shares a bit of inspiration and thought provoking content. His latest letter proposes several questions to reflect upon the past year and what’s ahead. I love this because what I have LEARNED this year is that I often forget the power I have over my own future, my dreams and goals. And through my Miracle Morning time, I have found success personally and professionally. It only takes a few minutes a morning to change your life.
What did I accomplish?
What challenges did I face?
Where did I fail and what did I learn?
Who supports me and helps me grow?
What relationships are missing from my life?
When is enough, enough?
What do I fear?
What brings meaning to my life?
Who am I becoming and who will I be in the end?
