On frameworks and fulfilment in 2024
On frameworks and fulfilment in 2024
A gentle holistic planning tool for the year ahead
RELIEVING THE PRESSURE OF RESOLUTION GUILT
Ah the new year. Such an arbitrary marker of time on a particular day in a particular calendar system that is imbued with so much meaning and pressure!
I don’t know about you but I have certainly felt the pressure to come up with resolutions that will transform my life, my health and my wealth this time of year. Why we allow these shadowy external forces to dominate our thoughts through the end of year holidays and make us feel as though our current life is not good enough is something worth considering.
Generally, if we’re made to feel insecure, not good enough and doubtful about our choices, it’s because someone wants to sell us things or convince us of things that we are not currently invested in. Think of all the ‘new year new you’ gym and fitness membership offers or fad diet offers that start to swamp us from Boxing Day onwards. They all know that they can prey on resolution guilt to get us to sign up and part with our cash, knowing that many of us will not be able to maintain our new year resolve, leading to more insecurity and disappointment but this time with less money in the bank!
The thing with resolutions is that they are often conjured up without thought about whether they align with our values, consider our capacity for change or what it might realistically take to maintain them long-term.
Perhaps instead of fleeting New Years resolutions and handing over wads of cash to those who aren’t invested in our long term success, we need to reframe our approach, go gentle on ourselves and consider what sustainable (or even better, regenerative!) steps we can take to support our wellbeing over the next 365 days.
EMBRACING THE GENTLENESS OF HOLISTIC GUIDANCE
Over a decade ago I learned how to create a holistic guidance framework for the year ahead under the wise council of a dear trusted advisor, rather than a set of flimsy resolutions that had insecurity and fear at their heart. My trusted advisor planted the seed with the initial outline and over the years, I have developed it into an activity and a guiding light that I really look forward to creating at the beginning of each year, that is tailored and refined to me and my needs.
Read on to find out how I create my framework and what steps you can take to create yours… no shame, resolutions or insecurity required!
HOW TO CREATE YOUR FRAMEWORK
Before you start this exercise, make sure you had a good sleep the night before, have been out for a walk (with no headphones on!), eaten something fresh and delicious, have a drink of water by your side and sit yourself in a calm and inspiring place. This will put you in the right frame of body and mind to make the most of your planning time.
You might also want to sign up to be part of Vessel’s online community as you’ll receive a free Reflect, Release Rejoice Workbook that will help you look back on the year that’s been to discover what you’d like to take forward into 2024 and what you’re happy to leave behind. Doing this exercise before you create your framework will provide you with even more clarity and direction.
Holistic wellbeing has so many components, so it’s important not to just focus on one area of life when you’re thinking about the year ahead. You might say have a goal to ‘get fit’, but if you’re working 70+ hours a week, eating takeaways each night and having difficulties with family or friends, it will be an uphill battle to create the space and time needed, both physically and mentally, to prioritise fitness.
YOUR KEY SECTIONS
Over the past decade, I have refined my framework to include six key sections that focus my thinking for the year ahead, which you can view below.
You may want to follow these or come up with your own unique mix of headings but whatever you choose it’s good to cover the following broad areas of life that the Co-Active Training Institute outlines in their Wheel of Life exercise.
Health
Personal Growth
Fun & Recreation
Significant Other/ Romance
Family & Friends
Career
Physical Environment
Money
I’d been creating my framework for many years before I encountered the Co-Active exercise and you’ll notice that while my general areas of focus are quite similar to the Co-Active terms, I use different words and terms. The words we use are important and should resonate with us personally - for example the word ‘money’ feels harsh and limiting to me. I’ve used words like ‘wealth’ and ‘abundance’ in the past instead as these are more expansive terms to contemplate and this year I’ve also added in the word ‘service’ into this section. More on why I did that later…
YOUR LEAD STATEMENT
Once you’ve decided on your headings, grab a piece of paper (yes a piece of IRL hold it in your hands paper, not a computer screen!) and a pen, put a lead statement in the middle of the page and place your section headings around this. Please note, for the lead statement once again use words that work for you and that feel open and inviting, not harsh and judgey. Did anyone ever enjoy someone yelling at them or making them feel guilty (unless it was by consensual agreement)? I don’t think so!
GOING INTO DETAIL
When you have laid out your page, start to fill out each section with big and small things related to the category that make you feel excited and enlivened. They can be general or specific, action oriented or thought based, meta or micro. The best thing is to not overthink it or worry about it being perfect. You can always start again if you need to but the essence of it is to capture your natural innate thoughts and ideas related to each area. One big thing to remember is don’t put down anything on your page that has a ‘should’ in front of it… we want dreamy and inspiring not mean and taxing.
I’ve summarised my six headings below and included some ideas and inspiration to get you started. Please note this is by no means an exhaustive list of options! Follow your own intuition and create lists that are meaningful to you.
BODY + HEALTH
This is the category to think about how you want to treat your physical being this year and what you want to put into it to keep it going smoothly. You can think about things like:
The types of movement and exercise that will bring joy rather than guilt
Sleep and how to ensure that you’re getting enough
What type of food would be delicious and good to fuel you through the day
How can you connect more into your body (I personally tend to dwell mostly in my mind, so having this reminder to also inhabit my body is really important!)
Does your body need support or care in any way? For example I’ve invested in craniosacral and biodynamic massage work in the past which was so beneficial for my body as well as my mind. Last year I tried out acupuncture which I also loved.
Do you need to connect with others or do any research into things that will help support your body and health this year?
Are you having enough water or too many sugar laden drinks? What could you do to replace or change your habits in this respect?
SERVICE & ABUNDANCE
As mentioned above, this category could bluntly be called ‘money’ or you could soften it up or make it more expansive with another term. I like abundance as this can be extended out to not just monetary wealth. The meaning of abundance is “more than enough of something” so it also means that you will have enough abundance to share with others. And abundance is not necessarily about more money - it could be that you’d like an abundance of rest and relaxation or time in nature!
This year I put ‘service’ into the mix as well as this feels like it balances out the equation. Life it about give and take, not just grabbing more and more. Giving to others is an important part of being in communion with humanity and as an added bonus the benefits to ourselves when we reach out and help people are well documented. After the past few years of being isolated from others, it’s a good time to consider how we can connect and be part of community again.
In this category you could consider:
If you’d like to volunteer your time to support a charity or organisation
What type of work you would like to get more involved in
Does your current job or role align with your values? Could you reshape it somehow to make it more value aligned?
Do you have any funds to invest? Even if you can spare the price of a coffee each week that will eventually build up over time to fund a fun holiday or project you are passionate about.
Do you need to do more learning around investments/ savings/ superannuation/ donations?
Have you got a weekly budget in place? Do you know how much you actually need to earn a year to cover your costs? Could you get some help from a financially literate friend and set this up so you know exactly what you need to be working towards and not waste time on assumptions?
You may want to work less this year and have more time for rest and relaxation, so how could you save on living costs to make that happen.
PLACES + SPACES
In this category, think about the physical environment that you’re in and how that affects your quality of life. Then think about the extended environment that you inhabit with your local community and right out to the global. Things to think about include:
Updates that you’d like to make to your flat or home to make it more cozy and inspiring
What could you tidy up/ donate/ sell to make more space in your environment
Trips that you’d like to plan or take - locally or abroad - even if it’s just taking some time out each week to dream or read books about your ideal holiday destination
Environmental activities that you could engage in regularly eg take three for the sea, joining a local working bee, helping to regenerate nature in some way
MIND + SOUL
Mental health and wellbeing have become prominent issues over the past few years, fuelled by the pandemic, loneliness, environmental crises and many other challenges. In order to be our best for others and for the planet, we need to support and take care of our mind and soul alongside our physical health. Some activities and ideas that you could consider trying out include:
Developing a meditation or mindfulness practice
Regular time away from screens and social media
Being selective about what content you consume and share with others
Keeping a journal or diary for thoughts, dreams and ideas
Making space and time for doing nothing and letting your mind gently wander or daydream
Reconnecting with a spiritual practice or learning about a new one
Taking a course or workshop on something that you’ve never done before. There are so many free easy to access courses now that can stretch your brain in different ways
Signing up for further study or learning a new skill - good for the mind, body and soul!
Making a Three Good Things list everyday to help focus our minds on the positive
LOVE + RELATIONSHIPS
Under this heading, you can consider intimate relationships, family, friends and your extended community. We can’t get anywhere in life without others so how can we make those relationships that matter to us even more meaningful? Some ideas could be:
Making regular walking dates with others to catch up and get your step counts up at the same time
Joining different groups or organisations to meet new people
Thinking of creative new ways to connect with old friends
Starting a book club/ AV club/ craft club/ repair club
If there are people in your life that are difficult, take some time to consider if they are worth the time and energy and make a plan either way so that you either free yourself in a safe way from them or invest in them more consciously and with intention so that you feel more in control
LEISURE + PLEASURE
A life is only half lived if you don’t get time for leisure and pleasure, although it sometimes feels nearly impossible to find a space in the day to breathe and have a rest! However, even if we can carve out a 5 minute break every 30 minutes to get away from our work activities in an eight hour day that adds up to over an hour of precious time that we can use to do something for ourselves that feels joyful and freeing from the everyday grind. Here’s a few ideas that you could include in this category:
Finding pleasure in the little things that are commonplace in your life
Getting your hands in the dirt or in the garden everyday
Listening to your favourite music while you’re cleaning and doing chores around the house
Doing something kind for someone else and finding pleasure in doing it anonymously
Discovering free music or performances outside of your normal consideration set and taking a friend with you
Taking dinner outdoors or having a midweek picnic lunch
Looking out the window and seeing how many different trees or plants you can name while you’re having a morning coffee or tea rather than doomscrolling
Walking away from your screen every half hour, going outside and taking 5 deep breaths
YOUR KEY THEMES
Once you’ve filled out your categories with lists of actions and intentions that make you feel great, look through them all and see if you can find common terms, words or patterns. I’m always amazed when I do this at just how clearly several themes come out of my seemingly jumbled lists.
I normally discover between 3 - 5 themes, so I note those down in the corner of my sheet and take them as my touchstones for the year. When you have your sheet completed, take a good read through, note down your themes somewhere handy if you like, then put it away out of sight.
I know it seems counterintuitive to not constantly refer to it if you’re using it as a basis for habit change and transformation, but as someone who’s work life is often dominated by spreadsheets, I love the feeling of pouring these intentions onto a page then not feeling any obligation whatsoever to timetable, plot out and track them!
I tend to have a quick read through every three months or so and pop it back in the drawer. Then as if by magic, I find that when I review my guidance page at the end of each year I have usually managed to achieve at least 80% of what I intended to do which I find both surprising and delightful, given that I didn’t have to plan the heck out of it to make it happen!
It goes to show how powerful our thoughts and intentions are to bring about change and that keeping a written record each year of our desired transformation is such a gift to our future selves. I’d love to know how you got on with this exercise, find me on Instagram and let me know your experiences in the comments!