The holiday season isn’t for the faint of heart. With the hustle and bustle of work, parties, obligations, and annual festivities, the last four weeks of the year can be a vortex of activities – in-person or virtual alike. Before you know it, you are recovering from events and on the cusp of New Year’s Eve. Where did the time go this month? Where did the time go this year? Am I really headed into a New Year without taking a moment to reflect and recognize all that I accomplished over the last 360ish days? Before we trudge down this road any further, I invite you to connect inward and outward while looking for small wins which may have gone unnoticed or unannounced.

I lean on the following definition of connection: a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else. As a fan of E.M Forster’s famous phrase, “Only Connect!”, this has been a guiding principle as our family hunkered down in our home. A home that has turned into a citadel – a place of safety and defense while we studied, worked, played, cooked, slept, entertained, and tackled home improvements. With our days operating like a series of Groundhog Days, the monotony wears you down, space diminishes, and tensions run high from time to time. So, leaning on a heart to heart connection helps restore the bond between people. When we tap into our heart, we remember what makes it beat, what makes it warm, and what makes it sing. At that moment, we relate to our children in a loving way. In those moments, our conversations deepen and children have the opportunity to share their experiences, thoughts, and ideas in ways parents imagine and long for. When some children are struggling though everchanging rules around distance learning, yearning for their friends, and missing playing on playgrounds, it’s imperative that we check in and ask, “Are you ok?”

For celebration, I rely on this definition: the action of marking one's pleasure at an important event or occasion by engaging in enjoyable, typically social, activity. In a year where loss dominated the news, finding silver linings is key in keeping hope, optimism, and gratitude top of mind. My children have an amazing capacity to take delight in actions running the landscape from their first independent mute on the Zoom button, to making their first pan of scrambled eggs, or finishing a book. I need to take a page out of this playbook and build it into my day. I tend to go, go, go and relinquish a moment of quiet in between one task or another. Sometimes, simply sitting and congratulating myself for stillness is a win I need to celebrate a few more times a day.

To slow down the final month of the year, I focus on connections and celebrations. For all the hard work, sacrifices, and lost moments, I leverage the final four weeks of the year to reconnect with friends and family through holiday cards, texts, calls, and gift exchanges. When holiday break arrives, I look forward to connecting with my little pod through board games, walks, and holiday meal planning. And when New Year’s Eve arrives, we’ll be throwing quarters into the corners of each room welcoming the new year. As I look back on 2020, I will continue my annual practice where I will reflect on milestones, challenges, and memories. Connecting within allows me to call out special highlights. I use this energy to outline what is important to me for the next year. There is something comforting in knowing what lays ahead. When I have a roadmap, a new set of connections and possible celebrations appear on the horizon.

I invite you to take part in my Virtual Brown Bag around this practice on December 17th Thursday at 12P PST. Get a glimpse of my process on reflection, looking forwards, and noting your life’s intentions. When you find your wedge – that intention operating as a lynchpin for other intentions to come to life – it can be a game changer in your life’s story.