At Winter Solstice, take time to do a Life Inventory, a tool to become more powerful and productive in the coming year. Here are six areas to guide you.
In this season-times post, we'll explore how to dial in to the power of Winter Solstice to re-tune, craft, and improve your life in the coming year.
Winter Solstice is upon us, marking the longest night of the year. The day is short, reminding us of daylight's value; the night comes early, bringing contemplative power. It's a pivotal moment, signifying the end of the descent into darkness, and the beginning of the gradual return to light. This day of transition offers a perfect opportunity for a Life Inventory—a time to reflect, assess, and prepare for the resurgence of energy in the coming seasons. The solstice invites you to look inward, evaluate various aspects of your life, and set intentions for a powerful and productive future.
I myself apply this time to Life Inventory, and today's the day! Join me, cozy up with a cup of coffee and your favorite writing modality (you may like a notebook, I'm on my laptop) and let's do our Life Inventory together. Here are six powerful areas to explore.
1. Emotions Inventory
The quiet and introspective energy of the Winter Solstice is ideal for taking stock of your emotional landscape. Reflect on the emotions that have been predominant for you over the past year. Which emotions have served you well, and which have held you back? Consider any patterns or triggers that have become apparent. This is a time to acknowledge your feelings, learn from them, and decide how you want to manage your emotional well-being in the coming year. You DO have the choice to choose which emotions you feel, to curate or clean-up situations that damage your emotional health, and to build, nourish, and create better emotions for yourself.
Key questions:
What were the major emotional themes I felt in the past year? What was their tonality? Were they triumphant, rich, amazing, or strugglesome, empained, bruised?
Where was my emotional energy wasted in guilt, shame, dread, fear, particularly about things that didn't need fearing and where all the negatives I agonized over never came to pass? How do I wish or choose to shift my energy into more robust, calm, peaceful and confident emotional themes that propel me into a sovereign life?
Knowing I can choose to create my emotional climate, what do I choose for the coming year? What do I want to feel as an expression of how I as a sovereign being create and interact with the world?
2. Authority Inventory
Winter Solstice is also a time to evaluate your relationship with authority, both internal and external. How have you been exercising your personal authority? Are there areas in your life where you need to assert yourself more or, conversely, relinquish control? Assess your interactions with external authorities as well—be it at work, in family dynamics, or social groups. Identify where you feel empowered and where you need to make changes. How much authority do you want to hold for present and future endeavors? How can you build this naturally into your life's flow?
Key Questions:
What level of authority do I want and need to hold, to empower all my future visions for the coming year?
How can I remove that which undermines that authority, so that it no longer erodes me?
How can I build new authority in these areas through action and experience, so that I build up the natural wise levels of power I am entitled to wield in my life?
3. People & Situations Inventory
This solstice, take a moment to reflect on the people and situations that have shaped your year. Who has brought positivity and growth into your life? Who or what might be draining your energy? It's a time to be honest about the relationships and situations that are beneficial for you and those that are not. Use this insight to make conscious decisions about who you want to surround yourself with and the environments you choose to be in.
Pay special attention to those relationships or situations that you may have let burden your life that you feel you "have to" maintain or allow in -- even those involving family members. Even with family, it's YOUR CHOICE whether you let someone into your life or not. Curate out those people who your innermost wisdom knows are freeloaders, promising the moon and never delivering, or those who feel they have the right to tear you down rather than the responsibility to encourage and empower you. Respect your needs, and set wise boundaries; your life-time-energy is your own to keep, and your wisdom knows the way.
Key Questions:
What people and what situations drain me in any way? (Examples: criticism, energy drain, fear of how gross you'll feel after interacting with them, feelings of burden and fatigue around them, they constantly talk discouragement and fear around your initiatives, they leave you feeling shamed and guilty for no explicable reason, etc.)
For what reasons do I continue to allow such people or situations into my life-time-energy? (Examples: feelings of obligation, 'have to' to keep the peace, they claim they have 'no one else' but me.)
Knowing it is my choice to select who and what I permit to enter my life, how will I begin to curate these people and situations to change, remove, disconnect, walk away from, etc.?
What people and situations that are healthy, empowering, and wise will I permit in my newly curated life?
4. Systems & Rhythms Inventory
Examine the systems and rhythms you've established in your daily life. Are your current routines serving your highest good? Do they align with your goals and values? The solstice is a great time to reset and reorganize. Consider adopting new systems that better support your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It's about finding a rhythm that resonates with your natural flow and enhances your productivity, as well as feeling, understanding, and honoring your natural needs as they ebb and flow. Even the moon has cycles of waxing and waning; honor your own needs to be more outward, and more inward, as cycles flow.
Key Questions:
Are there any systems or rhythms that are not serving me? (Examples: overworking, not honoring need for rest or reflection time, prioritizing too many small-scale tasks over the larger efforts required for achievements and large-scale advancement.)
What are new systems and rhythms that serve me more deeply in creating a life of strong energy, authority, and advancement?
How will I take care to set down these old, unproductive systems and craft new, fulfilling ones?
5. Shamanic Inventory
The Winter Solstice, with its deep spiritual significance, is an appropriate time for a Shamanic Inventory. This involves a deeper, more introspective look at your spiritual journey and the spirits, energies, natural world around you. Reflect on your connection to nature, your spiritual practices, and the lessons you've learned from the universe. Consider any spiritual or shamanic practices you want to deepen or new ones you wish to explore. This inventory is about aligning your own energies with the natural rhythms of the earth and the energy of the universe.
Key Questions:
How nourishing is my relationship with the natural world, my home, the things around me indoors and out, trees, animals, and how can I add to that nourishment and collaborative care and reflection?
Is my inner wisdom crying out for more of any particular areas, places, meditations, or other experiences within and around me? (Examples: more time in the woods, a trip that takes you out of your ordinary life-flows so you can gain perspective, daily running or walking along favorite paths, more blue sky outdoors time, drumming.)
How will I deepen my re-connection with the age-old nourishment available via nature, guidance, intuition, healing spirits, ancestral spirits, and other ancient energies in the coming year?
6. Advancement Inventory
Finally, as you cozy up in the serene winter setting, let the Winter Solstice be your cue to contemplate areas of advancement in your life. This is a time to reflect on the progress you've made and to set your sights on new heights. Begin by asking yourself, what areas of your life are calling for growth? Is it your career, personal skills, relationships, or perhaps your spiritual journey? The quietude of the season offers a perfect backdrop for deep introspection, allowing you to identify and articulate your aspirations clearly.
Key Questions:
What advancements did I really WANT in the past year that somehow, I never ended up completing or actioning?
What did I permit to get in the way? How will I change those systems and rhythms so that they're more focused on moving me towards fulfillment of my intentions?
What new advancements and achievements can I update my list with in the coming year -- or even the same list, but with a commitment to truly walking the journey and achieving them?
How To Use Your Life Inventory
To use the Life Inventory you create, put it somewhere where you can easily refer back to it. It's like guiding a sailboat, you want to easily check the shoreline to see if the landmarks show you're still on course. How often is up to you -- whatever keeps you most motivated (i.e. not so often it drives you crazy, but maybe before next Winter Solstice :) ).
As a tech innovator, I myself find it's easiest to use something online, such as Airtable or Confluence, both of which have robust free versions. But of course -- do what works best for you. Whiteboards are also useful for keeping these visible, and come in all sizes, from a private size about the size of a paper page, to the big ones that stand on an easel.
Mainly, keep checking in as to whether you're on track. The more small, loving changes you can consistently enact over time in these areas, the more you'll see your progress begin to unfold around you.
Winter Solstice Is Magic
The Winter Solstice is more than just a celestial event; it's a powerful time for introspection and transformation. By taking a Life Inventory across these dimensions, you position yourself to enter the new season with clarity, purpose, and renewed energy. Embrace this time to let go of what no longer serves you and to welcome new growth and opportunities. As the light returns, so too can your expanded sense of self and purpose.
Set aside time and do your Life Inventory, if not on the Solstice itself, then whenever you are reading this. Your inventory is a key tool to empower you as you #healworklife.
