Through Reflection Comes Joy.

By Rebecca Miller

As we step into 2023 and set ourselves up for another year in our salon/clinic business it’s a great time for reflection on the year that has been…

Did you finish the year on a high, still energised and feeling joyful? Or did you finish the year with nothing left in the tank - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained - relying on coffee and chocolate to get you through the day?!

It’s so common for our personal habits and routines to go out the window as we count down the days left in our working year and default to survival mode. I know this mode very well from when I used to be on the clinic floor, working what felt like a million hours a week, plus juggling all the other facets of running a business, while giving my all to my team and clients.

The pressure is especially amplified at the end of the year - our busiest time! It’s no wonder we’re crawling towards the end… hello public holidays and time off! And that’s just our professional lives. I know I was normally depleted before I even started thinking about what was going on in my personal life and what I needed to do to bring magic to our family Christmas. So many Christmases I would be looking for the lounge after lunch for a snooze - finally able to give in to what my body was crying out for.

Burnout: it’s not just tiredness; it’s losing your mojo completely. Rest and recovery are essential and something, as an entrepreneur, I have struggled with giving myself permission to do. To stop doing and just be… Staying busy was one of my addictions and limitations and I have had to completely rewire my brain and body from this conditioning and deep belief systems. I believed that you have to work hard to have a successful business and that my clients will leave my business if I’m not treating them.

Oh, and let’s not forget the guilt if you have time off - what will the team think?!Justifying your days off and that in fact, you are still working - call me with any questions! If any of these scenarios are resonating with you, then read on as I would love to share some new learning, perspectives, and ideas to help you set up for the new year to be unshakable.

Now, this is not to say challenges won’t happen. Of course, they will, but if you are at your best mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually you will be more resilient and more emotionally intelligent to handle whatever gets thrown at you.

I always talk about my life and business epiphany, but I’ll share the short version again for those who may not know… 10 years ago I sat on the end of my bed wondering if this is as good as it gets… I had what most would describe as business success, but something was definitely missing. I had a yearning for something much bigger, to be able to create more of an impact and have more influence; I knew I was here to leave a legacy behind.

That moment pushed me into my obsession with human behaviour, neuroscience, epigenetics, and quantum physics - which is basically how we think, feel, & act and why we behave the way we do. This journey of life-long learning changed the way I lead, the way I approached my business, and ignited a passion for helping my fellow salon and business owners.

Success is an illusion if joy and happiness aren’t present. Long gone are the days of hustling from dawn to dusk. I’m not saying you don’t have to work hard (having a business is a full-contact sport at times!) but I believe you should be committed to finding balance and flow in all areas of your life so that your business doesn’t take over and become a source of overwhelming stress and lack of fulfilment.

Instead, if you are operating from a higher purpose, that is your essence and fuel source to be living your core values at the highest level. The universe has so much to offer when you tap into its law and understand we are always co-creating and shaping our reality.

It’s important to realise that energy is so important and identify how much feminine and masculine energy we’re integrating into our lives. To ignite more feminine energy, we need to surrender and be supportive, tapping into more creativity, connection and love especially of self. Masculine energy centres around being action-oriented and doing. These energies can be well-balanced or create instability.

Our external world is a reflection of our internal world and if you are feeling like your mojo is lost, it’s time to take responsibility for your whole life: business, relationships, finances, health, mindset, and emotions; it starts with you. Self-awareness and taking ownership & responsibility for your results give you the freedom to make changes and adjust as needed to grow into who you want to become and have a sustainable business and life by design, not by default. Talk about true empowerment!

In 2023 you are your greatest investment; you are the magic pill. Great leadership starts with self-leadership. To be an effective people leader, you must first be an effective selfleader because you can’t lead others unless you first lead yourself. It starts and ends with you. Your growth = business growth… Selfleadership is about knowing who we are on the deepest levels, aligning to your centre and then living out your authentic truth through self-awareness, self-acceptance, selffulfilment, self-actualisation and building your emotional intelligence

Growing your leadership skills is nothing new, but self-leadership? Now, that’s a whole new ballgame! The ultimate game of leadership only happens when you have successfully played the inner game of leadership. Personal leadership is about inner mastery; it’s about learning how to bring out the best in yourself and then using that as a basis to bring out the best in others. A breakthrough is when you discover what has been getting in the way, and you go beyond yourself, and your selfimposed limits to do, create, or experience the impossible.

Now let’s do some work!

Reflection

Before we make waves in the new year, we have to really reflect on the year that’s been. Most of us carry our failures and letdowns around with us like a bunch of heavy rocks in a backpack and as the years go by the bag gets heavier and heavier, which means doing, creating and being gets harder and harder. Wouldn’t it be nice to let go of the bad and feel light again? To dream again? To live authentically and back in creativity?

Question 1: What happened in the last 12 months (personally and professionally)? Include the good, the bad and the ugly! Write it all down with no judgment.

Question 2: What are the lessons or wisdom from each thing you experienced that you can take with you into this new year?

Question 3: Who were you in January 2022?

Question 4: Who are you now?

Question 5: What are you still holding onto from 2022 that is taking up space mentally emotionally, and physically? (To really let go I recommend you physically burn the list of things you’re letting go of - it is incredibly empowering).

Question 6: What will there be room for when you let go?

Kick-starting an unstoppable 2023, with you as a Visionary Leader

Question 1: Who will you become in order to be your best this year (and what habits, rituals, and routines will contribute to this)?

Question 2: How many weeks of holidays do you want to take this year?

Question 3: How many days a week and hours per day do you want to work?

Question 4: What do you need to stop doing or start saying no to?

Question 5: How do you want to feel?

Question 6: If you could get to the end of 2023 and failure wasn’t an option, what do you want to achieve in your life, business, health, finances, and relationships?

Question 7: What’s your intention word for 2023? (Mine is expansion).

Question 8: What self-growth and personal development will you commit to this year?

Now, sit down and visualise yourself at the end of 2023… The person you have become, the experiences you have written about above, the financial abundance, the dream team, family adventures, your healthiest self and everything else you want in the dream life you’re creating.

The next activity I would encourage you to complete is to write a joy and happiness list.

Make it your highest priority to be going more of these things. If you have a family or partner, get them to do their joy and happiness list too. You can sit back, or this can be your linein-the-sand moment; it’s just a decision to create your life by design. It starts with selfleadership, stepping out of your comfort zone and being the leader, you were born to be.

It’s time to create the life and business you love; you deserve it. To stop hustling and find more flow, joy, and happiness. It’s not really about what you achieve but who you become on the journey. You get to choose… Choose You. You’re worth it.

So, are you ready to be unshakeable in 2023? I’m here to help!

Contact Rebecca: hello@rebeccamiller.com.au