Found this in my inbox yesterday from the fabulous Naomi Dunford of Itty Biz

I asked permission to share….

Why? Because this was just the prompt I needed ….

Typically I feel determined to reflect on the year past and eager to launch into what’s next….

and yet

this past year wasn’t like most.

I admit some overwhelmedness here…

not sure if it was too many hats, not enough, or if my emotions were at high play…

On Dec 30, 2010, at 1:01 PM, Naomi Dunford wrote:

Hello, my lovely,

A lot of people didn’t have a great year in 2010. You are not alone in this.

It doesn’t really matter why 2010 sucked. What matters is what you can take away from it.

Stop and think for a minute about your Top Five 2010 Moments. This doesn’t have to be hard; you don’t have to do any ranking or anything. This isn’t going on David Letterman. It’s just five moments that you would want to live again. Go ahead and write them down if it makes them easier to think about.

Consider them for a minute. Roll them around in your mind like you’d roll a particularly good piece of chocolate around on your tongue. Remember how happy they made you feel. Think about why they made you feel happy.

See if you can find a common thread (or two, or three). Then – and I can’t stress this enough - write that common thread (or two, or three) down. Don’t just think it, and don’t type it; handwrite it. And then put it somewhere where you’ll see it every day.

You want that piece of paper in plain sight because that common thread is what you’re going to work toward in 2011. Keep thinking about it, remembering it, and returning to it. When you have a choice to make, think about which outcome would be more consistent with that thread.

If you do that – if you keep that common thread in your mind – I guarantee you’ll have a better year in 2011 than you did in 2010, no matter what else happens.

But tonight, just think about your top five moments, your common thread(s), and what you’re going to do to be consistent with them in 2011.

Truth is …

I couldn’t immediately encapsulate 2010 into moments because the year seemed like such a blur.

I went back to my blog as if I was going to do a best of  or something and no wonder it seems like a blur…it totally was!!

I narrowed it down to these five themes rather than moments:

Freedom

Identity

Technology

Fame

Creativity

At this juncture of my life I am in a huge re-design. Midlife crisis? I’d say more like midlife opportunity! I have not only one door opening, but many!! I hadn’t put perspective on it but when I add the way these five things make me feel. Why do these things make me happy?? They as themes reinforce the “I can’s”!! It occurs to me how important to me it is to know who I am.  Knowing is one thing.  Doing “me” as in work, and life …is completely different. I need and thrive on being “me”

I am going to roll all of this on my tongue like a good piece of chocolate.

One thing I want to ponder is what does any of the above have to do with my work??

I have to say this …I am very grateful for blogging for many many reasons, but I am especially happy and i totally just realized this. Often I get about the doing….and while I have a semblance of a plan.  My blog shows me what I’ve actually done. This past year was impressive and it makes me very very proud.  There — the strongest feeling of ALL of this year?

Pride.

Way GOOD stuff madame Nadine!! Thank you!!!

image by karen hanrahan