It’s 2018, everyone is planning the new year and I’m stuck.

I’m used to thinking about the year from September to July (doesn’t everyone who has school kids do this?) and I usually plan in August. But January brings along this special atmosphere, so I usually take advantage to review and change my plans.

It’s been an amazing 2017 full of new people and things, but I’ve lived it completely outside of my confort zone.

Like an American Coach I follow said “it was like walking naked in the neighbourhood everyday”!

I was looking forward to the Christmas holidays to relax, slow down and recharge, but they’ve been different than expected.

Nothing special to complain about, just so many energies around that I’m not always ready for.

I don’t know if it ever happens to you but sometimes I feel like Patrick Swayze in “Ghost”, it seems like people look right through me.

So, after the holidays I sat in front of my paper and pens to do my review.

I started… but something was not working out: me!

I can study new planning techniques, set time for it, but if I’m not in the right mood, if I’ve too much other stuff to do, too many thoughts etc, the final result is not going to be “mine” but instead will be full of “do” and “must”.

I decided to stop for a while to get out of my tunnel and found my path using a tool that I often use to feel better, and suggest to people working with me:

I dance like there’s no tomorrow.

I can see you thinking “are you serious?”.

And the answer is: yes!!

It’s not an exercise to get fit after eating too much at Christmas 😉 It’s simply a way to reconnect to yourself, to be aware of how you feel and what your dreams are about without considering but or if, pro or cons.

You will take care of this later on.

Are you ready?

Find a place where you are alone, do it in the middle of the street if you don’t care, close your office door.

Prepare your music: for me David Guetta is the right solution to forget the world, you can dance on Rachmaninoff, jump with the Muse, rebel with Pinck. You know what makes you feel good.

One rule: no judgement (leave it at the door).

Dance and don’t care if you’re good at it.

Dance feeling beautiful and sexy.

Dance being brave and strong.

Dance celebrating mistakes and vulnerability.

Dance without shame like you will never allow yourself to do in public.

Dance knowing that what seems unreachable can become feasible.

And it’s true even for men listening, who rarely give themselves space and time for their emotions.

Let’s do it.

Finish?

Breath deeply (at a certain age it’s difficult to recover from a crazy dance) and get ready for the PUTITALLOUT: paper, pen and write down all the things you have in your mind for the new year. They don’t have to be in order, they don’t have make sense, you don’t have to know how  to  achieve them. Just empty your mind and make space for new things to come.

In the next weeks I will write about how I transform this messy list in my plan for the year to come.

In the picture of the post I offer you some moment of my dancing, arrived suddenly, while I was walking in the mountain. I asked my husband to take some pics and anyone who knows me can understand how uncomfortable  it was for me to do that!

I would love if you want to share (in the comment or sending me an email to giada.varvello@gmail.com) with me a pic of your “start of the year dancing”: a corner of your head dancing, of your feet jumping, of the place you choose to do it, It will feel like I didn’t dance alone.

Have a great 2018!