Good Morning,
I’m in Vancouver this weekend for an acupuncture conference, and I have to say its good to be here. Immersing myself in the medicine and connecting and collaborating with other acupuncture friends and colleagues is such a great way to start the spring and allow new ideas to emerge.
But here’s the thing. Ideas are only as good as their ability to become actionable steps that are directed towards your greater vision.
Which is nothing new. You know this stuff, but I’m probably not the only one that let good ideas lead to absolutely nothing happening and the awe-inspiring ideas fizzle to becomes distant memories by the end of the week.
And it’s really not your fault.
We make a million and one decisions every day, putting out fires on the daily is just life and it’s easy to get consumed with what is happening in this particular moment, the 1 year, 3 years, lifetime goals and desires get shelved quickly when we just have to get through the next minute.
I wish I could say that this is going to dramatically change by the end of this blog, but it’s not. Sorry!
But, what I can offer is a tool that I use to help map out some of my bigger visions that span more than a few weeks that also takes your unique element type into the equation.
1) Take out a large piece of paper and divide it into 12 blocks. Start with the month that you’re in. So April and then put in all of the subsequent months.
2) Then add the elements to these.
April & May: Wood
June (Wood, Earth, Fire)
July & August (Fire)
September Earth (but you can also add Fire and Metal)
October & November (Metal)
December (Metal, Earth, Water)
January & February (Water)
March (Water, Earth, Wood)
Now you can see how the Elements relate to each month of the year.
The next step is crucial,
3) Take a look at the how your Inner Alchemy fits in here. Are you a Fire and Summer’s your Jam, are you and Earth and September is your sweet spot but also find you struggle with the transitions? Don’t know your Element Type, Take the Quiz.
Identify the times of the year that you tend to have a lot of traction, and then also the places where you tend to be more quiet or require some major self care to help you get thru. Perhaps those parts of the year aren’t the time to launch, or doing the outward aspects of your goal.
While the books and the motivators (probably wood individuals) would just say push ahead and keep going, its important to see yourself in the process, each of us has a particular way of achieving and making things happen and when we give ourselves permission to go our own way, magic happens.
For me, being predominately Earth and Water, Water is usually (with the exception of this year) a time for inspiration and September is a really grounded time of year to put myself out there. The Summer and Fire months I struggle, I have little to no Fire in my chart and I often retreat, I schedule more self-care for myself in those 2 months and I also take the opportunity to put my brain on hold. I don’t push myself to be putting out new content or put really put anything to paper. Most years I take a few weeks off from writing or sharing during that time. In the past I would beat myself up for not being more productive, but now I plan for it, and I enjoy it.
So now its your turn, now that you have YOU into the calendar, you can begin to map out the vision. Break down the required steps over the course of the year, and decide to honour the parts of yourself that need to be nurtured throughout. Go for it when it feels good to just get stuff done, and surrender to the times when rest and inquiry need to take precedent. It’s all balance, and quite often provides the opportunity for greater achievements.
When you finish this exercise I want to hear about it. How did knowing your Element type and honouring it provide greater clarity for your goal setting.
Or if you feel called to spend the day with me, working with your Element Type and unlock your Inner Sage to create the life of your desires, I would love it if you would join me for the Inner Alchemy Workshop happening at my clinic on May 27th. Click here for more details.
XO
