Spring has sprung!  The days are getting longer, the sun is shining (mostly!) and there’s that gorgeous fresh feeling in the air.  I love spring, watching the world wake up from the winter slumber and coming out of hibernation, ready to embrace new challenges, changes and beginnings. 

Before I start any new projects or changes in Spring, I always spend some time reflecting first and my journal is the perfect, private space to do this.  Why reflect first?  Well, I find it makes it easier to move forward when I have shifted the stagnant energy of the last few weeks or months.  Reflection shows me where I have grown, what has worked for me, as well as highlighting what hasn’t so, I can avoid the same mistakes and learn from them.

Understanding and ultimately knowing yourself is a huge step towards strong self-belief and confidence.  When you are creating a new beginning, whether it’s a small or big change, these are both very useful to have as it makes everything so much easier!

I view it as a spring clean of the mind, clearing out the mental clutter that has built up over winter to free up your mind space so you can focus on what you want to do moving into the year.  As we know, a good physical declutter is good for the soul – imagine how amazing a mental declutter feels.

Start with those situations, things and people in your life that are sucking you of energy.  These are the first things that need to go so you can keep your energy vibes high!  This is an area that I regularly review as I easily absorb external energies, so it’s something I have to actively be aware of to ensure I’m not entertaining energy vampires who suck me dry.  Your energy is important, make sure you are protecting it at all times.

Consider the following prompts to discover where your energy is being zapped away –

• List everything you are putting up with and is frustrating you right now
• List everything you believe you “should” be doing with your life right now
• List all the pressures you are currently experiencing in your life right now

Lists are a fabulous journal method as they are a great way to find your starting point.  You can review your lists and easily see any similarities, patterns or recurring behaviours.  To make change, you have to know what you want to change!  What do you notice from your lists? 

How about those energy vampires?  There’s a common belief that we are influenced by the 5 people we spend most of our time with and from personal experience I can vouch how important the people around you are.  I used to have a lot of negative nellies around me, initially through my working environment and they naturally drifted into my personal world too.  I was exhausted from all the negative energy and found I was taking way too much of it on board.  This was a situation I became aware of through reflecting in my journal, my writing highlighted everything that I wasn’t aware of consciously!  Since then, I have stepped away from those who drained me and surround myself with upbeat, inspiring and encouraging people – they are all in my positive vibes team!

Who are your energy vampires?  Who is in your positive vibes team?  The following prompts will help to identify them –

• List 15 people you spend most of your time with
• If you feel good about yourself after you have spent time with them, place a + next to their name. If you feel low or tired after you have spent time with them, place a – next to their name

It all may seem a little negative right now, but I can assure you by reflecting on what is draining you will raise your awareness on what action you need to take to limit these.  When you move forward into a new start, ditching the old will make everything much easier to do.  Take a moment, imagine letting go of all the shoulds, pressures and negative energy surrounding you.  Breathe in clarity and freedom from everything bringing you down – How does that feel?  What action do you need to take to clear all this away?

Take some time to reflect on how you have come to this point in your life, write about your experiences (good and bad) in detail and how you believe they have contributed to your current position.  This is all important information that will help you make the changes you want to do, learn from what didn’t work and from what has worked.  It will give you an understanding of yourself, how you do things and what you want.  This self-knowledge will boost your confidence, after all knowledge is power.

Now, the fun and exciting bit – the new beginning!  What is your new beginning?  A new job or change of career?  Maybe it’s moving, a fresh start, new hobby or finally chasing your dreams.  Whatever it is, write about it in as much detail as possible.  Bring it to life in your journal!  See it, feel it and breathe it!

Once it’s all there in its glory, it’s time to start taking action –

• When do you want to be fully living this by?
• How can you break this down into stages?
• What’s the first step for you to take on your journey to making this happen?
• Who do you need to be to ensure you take this step?
• How important is this new beginning in your life to you?
• How acceptable is it to you if you don’t create this new beginning and stay as you are?

New beginnings and making changes can be an exciting and scary time!  Write about your journey in your journal to help monitor your progress, highlight when you haven’t made any progress so you can see what is slowing you, motivate you to keep moving forward and to celebrate everything it entails.  When things feel scary because you are pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, remember that this comfort zone you are leaving was once a scary place to step into.  You have left your comfort zones many times in the past, you can do it again now!