Reflecting on 2023: who have you become?
Reflecting on the past year, how do you view it? Is there something you're particularly proud of? Perhaps you fondly reminisce about a special journey or find satisfaction in achieving a milestone, like obtaining a diploma. On the flip side, are there things that evoke regret or shame?
What captures your attention when you look back on 2023?
There are numerous ways to review the past, and one powerful method, called 'being reflection,' is something I'd like to share with you. Transformational Presence has taught me that, given the situation I find myself in and the development at its core, I can choose how I want to relate to it. From that choice emerges naturally the behavior that aligns with it, resulting in a different outcome and experience. In other words, doing follows being.
Recognizing that life is circular (not linear), it also works the other way around. What you do influences who you are or are becoming. From this perspective, the following reflective question arises:
- Who have I become through the activities I've undertaken?
When I look back on the past year in this way, one event stands out for me—the Transformational Presence Global Gathering. In late September, over 75 people from around 15 countries gathered in Krakow, Poland. For three days, I co-hosted with my colleague Joanna Maria Zawada. The ability to stand there with calmness and confidence, deriving genuine pleasure, has been a long journey of development.
I vividly remember reciting entire speeches from memory in primary school; my gaze fixed on a spot on the back wall of the classroom. Terrified to look my classmates in the eye, I forbade myself from making any mistakes because that equated (to me) to 'failure.' The only way I knew then was to memorize everything. At the root of this was a profound insecurity; making myself visible to a group was the most daunting task for me as a 10- or 11-year-old.
By repeatedly putting myself in situations where I could present or facilitate in front of a group, I learned, step by step, to not care about what others might think and to be increasingly fully present. The more serene and liberated I became within myself, the more effortlessly my qualities, like humor and the ability to sense what a group needs, surfaced. Not always easy, but a tremendously beautiful process. What a joy to be completely yourself from a place of freedom!
Did everything go smoothly? No, certainly not. And that's okay. The essence, for me, is that I allowed myself to learn and develop through the projects and activities I undertake. That's where the focus lies, not on the performance.
As you reflect on 2023, who have you become? In other words, what ‘being’ qualities have you (further) developed? And which activities or projects facilitated that development?
In a similar way, you can also look ahead to 2024:
- What ‘being’ development lies ahead for you? What do you sense as your next step in being more fully yourself?
- And what projects or activities can you undertake to make that development possible?
Perhaps, in the coming week, there will be some time and space under the Christmas tree to be with these questions. Then, be curious about what becomes clear to you.
I wish you a happy holiday season!