Hello 2024!

Wow, 2024! Like most of us my latest memorable date is 2020 and the start of the pandemic. It feels like we have come a long way since then, but also that no time at all has passed. How does this make you feel?

I find that having a plan helps me to focus at the start of the year, but also gives me a framework to refer back to when the overwhelm comes knocking. This is why I offer The New Year Renewal online workshop (10th January 8pm), and this year the event is also happening as a mini day retreat on 14th January. Hooray!

Something that I never thought I would do let alone enjoy is journaling. One of the questions I pose at the start of the year (although you can do it any time) is ‘What do I have in common with Kate of one year ago?’

I let my pen find it’s way across the page without pre planning anything. No one will read this apart from me, and I let my mind wander as I contemplate the question. This year what’s come up is the fact that five years ago I started my wellbeing business, and I’ve ended up thinking about what I’ve got in common with Kate of five years ago.

I’m pretty stunned at the changes that have happened. Not just quitting my full-time job and going it alone, but the personal growth that’s unfolded through my meditation practice. The teachers that I have met to help me achieve that, and how much my perspective has shifted in terms of who I am, what my purpose is and why I am here. Yes, these are the big questions!

When I consider my meditation journey, it blows the rest of it out of the water. I’m both astounded and delighted that I no longer drink alcohol, that my eating choices are plant-based, and that I adore open water swimming. These things are a big deal to me, but they are also small details when it comes to the bigger picture.

If you’re wondering how this change has come about in a relatively short time, jump into one of my 8-week courses. The second course for Insight & Grounding is specifically designed to propel you into a different way of approaching things. The next course starts 16th January.

The work we do is cemented by completing a 64-hour intensive retreat and I am again offering you the space to do this under the supervision of my Zen Master in both March and July this year. It really does have the potential to change your life. Participants last year gave great feedback on their experiences so I’m looking forward to hosting these again.

I also make plans for my business at this time of year. I set my intentions about the kind of work I want to do, how I want it to make me feel, and how I can achieve a happy work-life balance. Once I have worked out my bigger goals, I break it down into what I can do now to start moving towards them. I do love a to-do list!

Plans and goals, whether they are work based or revolve around your personal life don’t have to be huge. It’s often the smaller things that have the biggest impact. An intention to be kind to yourself and then working out what that looks like for you is just as valid (if not more so?) than deciding to launch a tech app to rival the X space hopper man Mr Musk.

Intention is everything, there can be no meaningful action without it. Thank you for continuing to be part of my journey, and I wish you all the very best for this moment, and every moment in 2024.