FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®: FROM REFLECTION TO INTENTION

The last days of 2024 are the perfect time to step away from the hustle and focus inward. 

In this episode, I share how to use your reflections on the past year to create meaningful intentions for 2025. 

Nope, I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions (you’ll hear why), so I’m taking you through a few forms your intentions may take and how to keep them top of mind throughout the year.

🎧Listen now to step into the new year with clarity and faith in Y O U.

💌 I love hearing your thoughts! Send me an email at karli@flipsideofmidlife.com. I also love it when you follow and share FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE® with a friend, sister, or colleague. After all, we’re in this together!

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Transcript

FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®: FROM REFLECTION TO INTENTION

These last days of 2024 are an ideal window to step away from the external hubbub to focus inward. This week, allow yourself to sit with your reflections on 2024 and notice where you are. 

When you see the big picture of 2024, you have greater clarity on how you want to step into the new year.

{MUSIC INTRO} 

Welcome to FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®, my friend. I'm Karli Newman and I'm so grateful you're here with me.

If you're part of my email list, you may already know that I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions. They are usually made without quality thought put into them and aren't specific enough to be sustainable. Resolutions are disappointment waiting to happen and end up being ammunition for that mean girl inside of you.

Instead, I lean into intentions. And I encourage you to do the same, my friend. 

Rather than feeling rigid like resolutions, intentions act more like guideposts. They are gentle reminders that help you shift patterns of behavior and ways of thinking. They allow you to explore and get lost, but find your way back again. They're flexible and they have longevity. 

What's not to like about intentions?

If you missed any of the last three FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE® episodes about year-end reflection, please listen to those when you're done here today. They help you look back on 2024 with kindness and compassion, and they set you up for meaningful intention setting.

When you feel your reflections on 2024 are complete, it's time to flow into setting your intention or intentions for 2025.

I'm dropping a time marker right here for you, my friend, so you can come back when you need to.

TIME MARKER 01:55

Review your reflection notes and allow your mind to wander. 

What words or phrases come to mind and feel good to you? 

What themes or images fill you with inspiration?

You'll know them, my friend. They fill you with this light of excitement and possibility and hope.

Whatever comes to mind, jot them down. Don't judge, just jot it down. And don't feel like you have to choose your intention after just one time of sitting and reviewing your reflections and letting these things come to the surface. Your ponderings will percolate in the background, my friend, and more will arise as you go about your day or days.

Remember to capture what does come up for you. Your subconscious is telling you some things that are important. Remember to write them down. You don't want them to float away from you. 

Why not give yourself the gift of a few thoughtful sessions and remember to trust your inner knowing to show you what will serve you well in 2025. This is a chance, my friend, to let go of that control and perfectionism and judgment and just believe in you.

Your intentions for 2025 can take different forms. So, now that you have all of these things on the paper, the words, the phrases, the themes, the images, whatever has come up to you throughout this review of your reflections, now you get to decide what your intentions will be.

They can take different forms. You get to choose what feels best for you. 

You may feel that cue words or phrases are best for your intentions. 

Cue words or phrases act as quick and gentle nudges throughout the year. For example, in 2024, I chose a phrase, let go, and a word, expand, for my intentions. Throughout the year, they each stood on their own to help me create shifts, and they acted together as a powerful duo for me. By reminding myself to let go, I was able to expand. 

When you choose cue words or phrases, manage the desire to pick too many. If you're having a hard time narrowing down your choices, then the next format may feel better to you.

You may feel connected to selecting a theme as your intention.

An overarching theme for the year is a way to guide you in a slightly different way. Several years ago, I chose a theme for my intention. I called it the year of me. I did so many things that year that prioritized my wants and needs and enhanced my well-being in all areas of my life. 

When you choose a theme as your intention, it takes on a broader meaning than a cue word or phrase might.

Or you may be drawn to using an image for your intention. 

An image that represents your intention for the year can be so powerful. An example might be a deeply rooted tree that symbolizes being grounded, flexible, and resilient, and still growing. Another example is a compass that reminds you of your values and that it's okay to get lost on your journey because you have what you need to find your way back.

When you choose an image, you feel and understand what it represents for you. There's no need to put it into words. 

Regardless of the form or forms you choose to use for your 2025 intentions, the idea is to keep it simple yet meaningful. These are guideposts that give you space to explore, grow, and return to what matters.

So when you've chosen your New Year's intentions, how do you keep them top of mind? Well, I like to use a vision board. I also like affirmations, meditation, journaling, sticky notes all over the place, and wallpapers for my phone or computer. These are all effective tools. 

Get creative and have fun with this! What's in your daily line of sight? What feels best to you? 

If you're feeling lost or you want some more specific guidance on how you can move through this process, I offer 90-minute workshops that help you explore some of these tools more deeply.

You and I work together via Google Meet for 90 minutes, to discuss effective ways for you to use these tools And get in some practice before our time is up so you can kickstart your progress. Visit the Work With Me page on my website, flipsideofmidlife.com, to learn more and to book a time that works for you.

Remember my friend, this is for you. Your intentions are here to guide you. There's no rush to get through this process. Take the time you need. Trust you to feel your way into this. Open yourself to it. And of course, it's your prerogative to change your mind along the way. If an intention you set no longer feels right, sit with that and choose a new one that does.

With that said, I give you some kind words, of encouragement. Step away from the traps of indecision here. A decision made allows you to move forward through action. That action gives you momentum and motivation to keep going. It feels so good. 

What are your thoughts about this episode, my friend? I love hearing from you. You can reach me at karli@flipsideofmidlife.com. 

And if you have a sister, friend, or colleague who could use a little inspiration as they step into 2025, please share this episode with them. 

As always, my friend, I'm here cheering you on as you travel through midlife and beyond. I'll be back next week to kick off 2025. I can't wait to meet you here then.

{MUSIC OUTRO}