Yesterday, one of my good coach friends, Bev Barnes, reminded me to take the time to reflect on what I feel good about from 2009, what fruits of my efforts were born, and what it feels like to appreciate my own successes.  Thank goodness for brilliant coaches!  It was the perfect reminder for me, because I tend to charge forward into new ideas without taking that reflection pause.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this tendency.  Looking forward is one of the main reasons we move forward in life, but it can also, surprisingly, bring a sudden halt to forward motion.  Whether you’re trying to release pain, lose weight, create a business, or achieve any particular goal, reflection is one of the most important aspects of your success.

Why?

Without it, we forget to remember what we’ve learned, and we don’t feel the relaxed, open, spacious feeling of receiving something we strove to reach.

I see this constantly with my clients.  Often, a client will say to me something like this:  “Well, I felt pretty good for a couple of days – I’m not sure exactly when it was last week, but I knew it wouldn’t last.”  As a coach, this is possibly the most frustrating comment I hear from clients.  I SO want them to give themselves credit for the moments of having the dream, even if those moments are sandwiched between moments of not having what they desire.  If you don’t notice and fully experience the moment of blissful health and comfort in your body, the day when you purchase the smaller size of jeans, or the new client, you lose something of immense value.

You lose a chance to expand the dream moment into more dream moments.  If that moment of having what you want is a little seedling of the larger plant you’re trying to cultivate, then you must nurture it – water it, feed it, love it, and pay attention to it.  If you ignore it, how will it grow?

Since I’ve ignored many of my moments, I’m hoping you’ll take this to heart and put it into practice in your life.  Then you will see your life expand as those moments of glory – for that’s what they are, no matter how small – multiply.  These are the perfect moments to express love and acceptance toward yourself.  It can be such a habit to press onward, but if you listen to the wisdom of your heart, you’ll know when to stop and honor yourself and be present with your current experience.

I love all of my forward motion – my new ideas, my exciting new projects, my clients in the day ahead.  I want this year to be the year of go, stop, go, stop, go, stop as I move and then relish the results of that movement.  After relishing last year for an hour yesterday, I felt fabulous.  I felt immensely grateful to my coach friend for reminding me to take that time.  I felt relaxed and loose in my body, and I felt at home within myself.  I felt love and acceptance.  I felt wise – I learned so many things last year!  I felt humbled by the amazing people I connected with and fantastic experiences I had last year.

So, here’s to a year of relishing the moments.  Buy yourself a beautiful, inspirational journal (I LOVE Paperblanks!) and take two minutes at the end of each day to relish the moments you loved.  Congratulate yourself for the achievements from that day – little and big, external and internal.  Next year, you’ll have a year’s worth of relishing to enjoy when you re-read the journal and see what you’ve experienced and how much you’ve received in a year’s time.

This weekend, take some time to write a list from 2009.  What did you do that you’re proud of?  What did you receive from yourself, from others, last year?  What happened that was a dream come true?  Sit and feel the immense good feeling in your body as you relish.

And, of course – share!  I’d love to hear what you did that you’re happy about, whatever it may be!  Share dream moments, big and small.