Best year yet
2021
JANUARY 9, 2021
ONLINE RETREAT
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RESOURCE PAGE
OUR AMAZING GROUP
Hover over names for links to emails!
RESOURCES SHARED BY YOU
Have a resource or two to submit? Email Kate to add them.
You can also email Kate your social media handles, or anything else you'd like to share here!
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Mindfulness & Meditation
Morning Mindfulness Classes (submitted by Lucy Redoglia)
Offered daily, via Zoom, 8:45-9:30am PST, $5-15 suggested donation
(Other classes also listed on website)
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inclusion, equity, & Justice
The Black School Process Deck (submitted by Jeanine Pollard)
A tarot-style interactive methodology tool for brainstorming and designing creative activism projects.
AFFIRMATION CARDS
The Lamare Affirmation Cards, can be purchased here.
2020 REFLECTION: LOOKING BACK
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1) Think back on 2020. What feels significant? Start in January and skim slowly, until you get through December. What were the most memorable events, moments, people, and places?
A secondary step to this is to pull up your 2020 calendar. What did you forget about your first time through?
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2) Looking at the list you created in step #1 above, reflect on what you learned about yourself, others, and the world. What did this past year teach you? How have you grown?
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3) What is ending? 2020 was a challenging year. What do you want--or need--to leave behind as you enter 2021? What chapters are coming to a close?
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4) Who and what are you grateful for, as you enter 2021?
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Core valueS ACTIVITY
1) Reflect on times when you have felt:
happy
proud
fulfilled
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2) Think about those you really admire.
What qualities do they embody? What values do they prioritize?
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3) Select 8-10 words from the list below that really resonate for you.
(If you don't see the right words, add your own words to the list.)
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4) Prioritize and rank your top 3-5 core values.
Accountability
Accuracy
Achievement
Adventurousness
Altruism
Ambition
Assertiveness
Attentiveness
Balance
Being the Best
Belonging
Boldness
Calmness
Carefulness
Challenge
Cheerfulness
Commitment
Community
Compassion
Competitiveness
Consistency
Contentment
Contribution
Control
Cooperation
Creativity
Curiosity
Decisiveness
Dependability
Determination
Devoutness
Diligence
Discipline
Discretion
Diversity
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Elegance
Empathy
Enjoyment
Enthusiasm
Equity
Excellence
Excitement
Expertise
Exploration
Expressiveness
Fairness
Faith
Family
Fidelity
Fitness
Focus
Freedom
Fun
Generosity
Goodness
Gratitude
Grace
Growth
Happiness
Hard Work
Harmony
Health
Helping Others
Honesty
Honor
Humility
Inclusion
Independence
Ingenuity
Inquisitiveness
Insightfulness
Intelligence
Intuition
Joy
Justice
Leadership
Legacy
Love
Loyalty
Making a Difference
Mastery
Merit
Mindfulness
Obedience
Openness
Order
Originality
Patriotism
Perfection
Positivity
Practicality
Preparedness
Presence
Professionalism
Purpose
Reliability
Resourcefulness
Restraint
Results-Oriented
Rigor
Security
Self-Actualization
Self-Control
Selflessness
Self-Reliance
Sensitivity
Serenity
Service
Shrewdness
Simplicity
Speed
Spontaneity
Stability
Strategic
Strength
Structure
Success
Support
Teamwork
Temperance
Thoroughness
Thoughtfulness
Timeliness
Tolerance
Traditionalism
Trustworthiness
Truth
Understanding
Uniqueness
Unity
Usefulness
Vision
Vitality
CORE ValueS REFLECTION QUESTIONS
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1. Was the activity of choosing your core values confirming, surprising, or both?
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2. Would other people be able to guess your top values? How do they show up?
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3. Do your values show up more at home or at work? Do you feel comfortable living your values with family and friends? Why or why not?
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4. How might you turn each value into an action? (E.g., If the value is "generosity," what does that look like in action/practice?)
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5. How would you like to enact your core values in the months/year to come?
"ALL OF YOU" LIFE DOMAINS ACTIVITY
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1) Rate each domain below on a scale from 1-5, where 1 is "Not At All Satisfied" and 5 is "Completely Satisfied."
2) For each domain, also note:
- what you are proud of
- what you would like to work toward
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Home/Location
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Money/Financial
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Work/Career
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Health/Fitness
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Self-Care/Self-Compassion
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Leisure/Free Time
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Friends
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Personal Growth
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Creativity
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Spirituality/Religion
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Love/Partner/Marriage
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Parent(s)/Elders
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Child(ren)
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Community Involvement/Activism
LIFE DOMAINS REFLECTION QUESTIONS
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1. Were there any surprises as you completed this activity?
2. What would a score of 4 or 5 look and feel like in each category?
3. Which, if any, categories do you feel completely satisfied or happy with, just as they are right now? How might you celebrate that?
4. How might you make changes to one or more of these domains in your life? What help and support do you need?
5. What change(s) should you make first, and what change(s) do you want to make first? Are those different?
6. What is one action you could take in each area to get you closer to where you want to be?
7. Is there one key action you might take today to bring things into greater harmony?
"START" PLAN
GOAL-SETTING QUESTIONS
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1. What would you like?
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2. What will that do for you?
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3. How will you know when you have it?
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4. What might get in your way?
After the retreat
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1. Letter to Your Future Self
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Find a lovely card or favorite stationary, or go to the last page in your journal, and write yourself a thank you note for the gift of time and reflection that you gave yourself by being a part of the retreat. Fill your note up with compliments, big self-love, affirmations, and kindness. Tuck this note away somewhere where you know where to find it, because I want you to pull it out when you're having a tough day... sometime in the year to come. Use this note to spark your confidence again. Read it to feel closer to yourself. It works wonders.
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Alternatively, you can visit FutureMe and write a letter to yourself online. Choose a future delivery date to have it delivered right to your inbox.
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2. Review Your Notes
Within 2 weeks, review the activities above and revisit your reflections and notes from the retreat. What do you need to spend some additional time thinking about or planning for?
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The activities we did during the retreat are evergreen, and you can revisit them again and again as feels helpful to you. I recommend doing a "self retreat" at least every 3 to 6 months, looking at what has emerged over time, and recalibrating goals and intentions.
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3. Reach Out to Your Squad
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You met some incredible (amazing!) women during Best Year Yet: 2021. Is there anyone you want to stay connected to, team up with as an accountability partner, or get to know better? A list of contact information for all retreat participants is in your email, though feel free to get in touch if you can't find what (or who) you're looking for.
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4. Use Your Life Balance Journal and Mindfulness Deck
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The gift box I sent you is for more than just our retreat! It contains great resources and tools for you to revisit and put to use. There are some lovely quotes in the journal, and the mindfulness deck is helpful when you need some time to check in with yourself but aren't sure where to start.
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5. MAKE A DATE (OR SEVERAL!) WITH YOURSELF
While we all have the best of intentions to keep up the great work we began together at the retreat, life keeps moving--and it moves fast! It is easy to forget to take the time needed to check in with ourselves, and to ensure we're really listen to what's going on inside. I encourage you to put a date on your calendar once a month (it only needs to be for a hour--though longer would be better) and save that time for a little date with just you. It's a time for self-care and self-reflection. Review your SMART Plan. Check in with your accountability partner. Do something nourishing that you've had on your list. You deserve it.
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6. Stay Connected to Kate
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I will be thinking about you in the months to come. Please don't hesitate to reach out, send me updates along the way, or let me know how I can help and support you. I am here and would truly love to hear from you. You can email me, or use the contact form below, anytime.