Your birthday is a very important milestone in your life. Whether you like sharing your age or not, with each birthday you've earned the opportunity to celebrate the past year and prepare for the next. One way to do that is to take a birthday retreat, where you find a beautiful, quiet location to get away by yourself in order to spend some valuable time on you. Some good locations for a retreat include the park by the river, the steps of the Capitol Building, your friend's lake house, the zoo, or the bench down by the lake.
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First, reflect on what happened this past year. Make a list of the events, decisions, results, etc. What was your greatest accomplishment? Where did you go wrong? What goals did you achieve?
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Identify the people who most impacted your life over the last year, along with the people with whom you had significant influence.
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List your expectations for the coming year for your family, your spiritual life, your work, your hobbies, your education, and your relationships.
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List your goals for the upcoming year. The more specific you can be the better.
It may take a few hours to complete this reflective process, but it's worth the investment of your time. You're worth it!
A few guidelines:
- Turn the phone off.
- Turn email off.
- NO ONE should have access to you unless an absolute emergency.
- Reserve at least 4 hours and stay longer if needed.
Keep these reflections and plans available so that you can review them at least once each month--preferably on the same day of the month as your birthday--to assess your results and to make adjustments. You will be amazed at the empowerment this strategy gives you over your life.
