Goodbye 2016 , Welcome 2017

We are fully into the New Year, but I realized that I wanted to take some time writing a post about closing 2016 and welcoming 2017. Sometimes we move on on the next new thing so quickly and focus all our attention there, without acknowledging and appreciating how far we have come. And I'm certainly guilty of doing that!

WHAT WAS 2016 ALL ABOUT ?

The other day I was decluttering all the paper around the flat, and I've found my 2016 intention and the word I had chosen for the year was ACTION.

It's so funny because I had forgotten about it in the last few months, but in many ways I kept my word .

I remember that 2015 was a big year for reflection and self-exploration , but not lots of visible action ( even if the inner work was an essential base for 2016) , and that after feeling a bit stuck because most of my energies were still involved in my business school studies, I was ready to dive myself into something new and heart-centered ( see become a yoga teacher and life coach ;-)

This past year was definitely a lot about stepping up, taking action and expressing my new interests , and my new ME on a whole new level.

I remember when I started my blog in July 2015 I was so happy to have a creative outlet to express my passion for all things personal development and lifestyle in general, but I was so afraid to share it, in particular on FB where basically ALL the people I know from childhood to now hang out.

It was a really difficult step to press publish on this article , I had my inner critic screaming at me and finding all good and rational reasons not to do it ( things on the line of.....what people you know think of you? are you a narcissist writing about your personal stuff? why do you think people even care about it?.. and the list goes on) . But since that moment I just kept on going and express myself in writing and in life much more freely, and it was simply AWESOME.

I've never felt more of myself and real. And you know what? I had an amazing response from people that were lifted, and even inspired by what I was sharing with my blog or social media. And I was discussing about it with my partner in crime Anna the other day,

"How incredible and crazy is it that people can take new ideas and being inspired by you, even if you do nothing special, even if you're just YOURSELF ?!? " 

It feels pretty amazing and effortless and I believe that we're in this world for that, for pure self-expression and sharing our passions. Nothing more, nothing less.

Another theme of my year was TRUST and OWN IT.

I've started the year already full on my yoga TT and my Coaching Certification. But I remember in January and February of last year, I was feeling quite confused . my head was still half in my old career path ( finding a classical job in marketing for a company) and half in my new dreams. And I also felt pretty disorganized because I had control on all my time and I wanted to make the most of it, but I didn't know HOW.

But by March, after some experimentation I managed to find a system that worked for me, and it felt immediately better. Also I took the decision to be CONFIDENT about what I was doing.

It's true that confidence comes by action, but I also believe that confidence is a choice. Deciding that my dream life was the way I was taking, and leaping with both feet into it. 

And so I did, and everything became easier, simplified and I started to actually move forward with ease, instead of self-doubting myself like before. 

I felt better sharing my new projects with people without feeling like a crazy lady, and I gradually owned it more. And even if I didn't have a plan, I trusted to just follow the tips of my intuition and move on step-by-step which freaked out my family, but felt really good for me.

Overall it was an amazing year . I connected with friends and strangers much deeper than before, and my heart literally expanded to the possibilities that I have to give and share my gifts with the world. 

I know it sounds cheesy, but I really believe that once you put yourself into ALIGNMENT with what's right for you, you save so much energies that before were employed in

"How can I change my life? How can I be happy? When can I book my next holidays to the Maldives to escape from everyday life? "

to actually using them to create stuff, help others and feel like you have enough , your cup is full and you can share your extra energy on things outside of you.

It was also the year in which I opened my eyes to the challenges of the outside world. I was face-to-face with them in Paris, and I couldn't ignore it anymore. 

Well, I'm not sure if all of this made sense, but that's how I felt this year.

Girl power! Grateful for the beautiful women in my life in 2016 

WHAT IS MY INTENTION FOR THIS NEW YEAR?

I'm so excited for 2017, and already the first couple of weeks were awesome so far.

The word I chose this year is LOVE. Compared to ACTION of 2016 is definitely more of a feminine intention and less action oriented.

At the end of this year I've started to do some work around relationships , especially romantic relationships and this year I'm ready to take more risks in this area of my life and learn new lessons.

In 2016 I was so focused on my career that I left aside dating or having a partner. But I'm feeling ready to face my blocks and give some space to my personal life , I know there is quite some work to do on it, because it has never been on the top of my priorities list.

This word will touch any kind of relationships of my life to make them more real and authentic .

Another theme of the year is implementing all that I've learned last year during my trainings,  in a way that feels good for me. It means teaching yoga, coaching , writing this blog, and finding a rhythm that I can maintain, without rethinking it every few weeks like I normally do. I would say create a stable ground.

And do it with more fun and light, because sometimes I have the tendency to take things a bit too seriously and make them a work even when they're awesome and fun!

And connected to it, focusing on financial independence. This is very important and since last year there was a lot of investing , which I don't regret at all, this year it's about becoming more and more independent from all the kinds of help I received last year from my family in particular. 

So I made a simple financial plan with some reasonable objectives for each term, and I'm happy that this first month I'll able to reach my goal which is awesome. 

Ultimately the inner belief I'm working around is "You can have it all" which I shared on this post on Instagram. It's about uncovering the layers around my old beliefs that If I have a happy career I cannot have a happy relationship, and anything in between, And instead trust that I can have all my heart desires, and it's possible. 

Voilà , here it's my intention for 2017.

Did you chose a word for the year? What are your intentions? How do you want to feel and what do you want to accomplish?