Every End Is A New Beginning: A Monthly Check In Guide

Dear Friends,

I always love the end/begging of the month. It is such a wonderful opportunity to check in with your mind, heart, and soul to see how you're doing, what went well this month, what didn't go well, and how to make next month better!

I find it fruitful to journal about how I feel at the end of the month mentally, emotionally, and physically. I like breaking it up into these categories because 1) it helps me to stay on track with achieving goals that I set in these areas, and 2) if I break it down into two just categories, physical and spiritual, I find that there is a lot of overlap and it doesn't help me look at things clearly and objectively, which is kind of the point of a monthly check-in. ;-)

I like to use this time to evaluate the progress I am making on my annual/seasonal goals. This helps me know what is going well and what needs more attention next month so that it comes up to speed with the rest of me.

For example, this year I really wanted to improve my prayer life with a regular prayer practice, build up to working out daily (except Sunday), clean up my eating to encourage a healthier hormonal balance, and get outside more! (That last one covers a lot for me, from the spiritual experience of gardening to the mental clarity from sunshine to improving my cardiovascular system - it's all in there!)

So I like to block out an hour or two near the end of the month (even if you took ten minutes per category and spread it out over a week, you would still get a good look at your progress that month!) and journal through my thoughts and experiences.

Like I said before, this is how I stay on top of my annual/seasonal goals and actually achieve them! After all, I set them for a reason - to be happier - so why cheat myself out of success by losing sight of the goal and the process? 

Why cheat yourself out of the goal and the process?

So take anywhere from ten minutes to as long as you like and see how you're doing. Take a look at how hard you've worked, what made you feel amazing, and who made you feel like trash and just acknowledge it all.

It can be as beautiful or bullet-pointed as you like, as macro or as micro as you like. Just give yourself the opportunity to make your life better.

Your life is what you make it.

So make it amazing and make it count!

Then give a little thought to how you can keep up the momentum of all the good stuff and shovel out anything that's starting to stink.

I love you and I wish you all of the success and happiness in the world!

Love,

Laney <3