Create Your Own Myth in 2016

“Create Your Own Myth” is wisdom from Rumi (a 13^th century Sufi poet mystic and scholar) and one of my favorite sources for inspiration especially during times of transition…like the ending of one year heading into a new one.

With the New Year just days away, it’s that time when many of us are ready to recreate ourselves by up-leveling what’s working or by changing what’s not. We may do this by creating traditional new year resolutions or setting goals or conceptualizing intentions or engaging in some kind of visioning.

I love new beginnings myself. A new start personally and / or professionally can be both invigorating and empowering.

But there can be pitfalls in them thar hills. The temptation to effort and push to realize our goals is our culture’s mantra. It’s dependent on something outside of us to get our way and to feel “right” with ourselves and the world. The strategy of struggling to make something happen dependent upon an outcome that we long for is often a set up for overwhelm, fear, procrastination and the ultimate sabotage of what we are trying to achieve.

Also, if you are anything like me, there are often aspects of those pesky long-standing core issues (feeling less than, relationship / family dysfunction, health problems, life purpose issues, financial freedom) that keep coming up year after year for resolution. If that’s what you are tackling with New Year’s intentions, again the level of expectation and guilt when progress is not made can feel disheartening.

So my invitation to create “your own myth” is encouragement to try something new aligned with a way of being that is easier on you. It’s an invitation to unhook from a focus outside yourself to find successful solutions to your life. It’s an invitation to conceive your own unique, expansive story that is an infrastructure for going forward in a purposeful way. Let your imagination run and allow your story to be fluid, open to outcome, compelling, fun and practically infused with your deepest inner knowing.

Mythic stories such as this usually have a universality to them that is continually calling you to claim who you truly are without limitations.

Sure it’s important to weave in what has specific heart and meaning for you but the idea is to engage with life with curiosity and wonder and a lightness of being that is both practical and sustainable even in the face of inevitable challenges.

To navigate your story’s journey I also encourage you to trust your own instincts for they are the messages from your soul.

Aligning with your own myth also means embracing the element of surprise. I have maintained for many years that it is the willingness to live in the zip-code of the unexpected and the unknown that is really where the magic happens and miracles unfold.

So what story would feel totally delightful and wonder-filled to you?

So many people I’ve talked to lately have said the same old strategies are not going to cut it for them in 2016.

Choose to make this your year on your terms. At the end of the day, the answer to any of your questions always begins with you!

Bonus Resource…my gift to you:
Year End Assessment with Questions to Support Your Life Going Forward into the New Year

These questions are designed to provide a way to envision your future and to uncover how you might best be supported to attain that vision.

Contemplate these questions with a sense of ease. Don’t second guess yourself or over think your answers. As much as possible, let your answers flow from your intuition and your heart’s knowing.

[The inspirational sources for some of these questions are coach Michael Neill, Roman Philosopher Emperor Marcus Aurelius, coach Cheryl Richardson, and Dr. Rev. Michael Beckwith.]

1) Reflections on what you have accomplished this year:

If you had to pick a theme of growth for 2015, what would it be, what did you learn and what changes reflect this growth?
What did you accomplish last year that made you feel good about yourself and how did you celebrate?
What are you most grateful for?
What was fun?
What would you do differently if anything?
What had you hoped to accomplish that didn’t occur in your experience?
How was 2015 perfect for you?
What happened, good or bad, that forced you to wake up and see your life with clarity and truth?
Think about the people who influenced your growth – the ones who supported you and the ones who hurt you – and, in your own private way, thank them for their contribution to your life.

2) For the New Year, to create a life that is more fulfilling and compelling, invoke a new vision by completing the following:

What 3 internal changes would you make to live a more meaningful life?
What 3 external changes would you make to live a more meaningful life?
What 3 positive qualities do you already possess that you are proud of?
How willing am I to trust and follow my inner intuitive wisdom to implement, live and embody my vision?
Answer the following;
I love…
I am passionate about…
I want….
I am…
If I were not afraid, I would…