To celebrate the end of the year and to hopefully spread good things this holiday season, I’m excited to reflect on lessons learned, or even reinforced, in the last year.
Let’s dive into the first one, shall we?
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Right before Halloween, we took a jaunt up to Salem to experience the magical witchy hauntings of such a historic city. And it was, indeed, a magical time with wonderful people.
There was one moment when our group asked a woman passing by to take our photo under a beautiful stream of lights above our heads in the main square area. We said our thanks, and they left.
And the picture was awful. Like… it had no life behind it. It was blurry. The energy behind it wasn’t good. It was disappointing. And I deleted it immediately.
Compare that to when my love takes photos of me, his eyes light up as he takes his time trying to find the right frame to capture me. You can tell when you look at the pictures that he loves the person he’s snapping the photo of. He wants me to look good in photos—and he’s just good at doing that in general. But he’s doing it with love behind it, and you can see that in the photos.
Now, I don’t know what was going through that woman’s mind when she took the photo of the four of us, but I wish we had asked someone else, had we gotten any inkling that she wouldn’t do it with positive intentions.
Because this is something I’ve learned this year…
The intention and the energy in which you do anything is what’s infused into it.
This year, I had more examples of this than ever before; this was just one.
If you’re doing something with a sense of obligation, someone will feel that it was done because someone felt they had to, rather than that they wanted to.
If you’re doing something angry, that anger will be felt on the other end in some way.
And when you do something with joy and love, that love only spreads and the joy is felt ten-fold.
People can simply tell! It’s the feeling and it’s the energy behind it. We just know, some way or another.
So, what would you rather spread through your actions and words?
If you show up ready to give whatever your 100 percent is that day, if you show up eager to help and focus, or if you are ready to look at something in a positive light so it’s easier to manage… I imagine the outcome will turn out a lot better than if you come at something with a negative attitude, a lackadaisical or careless approach, or even as though you’d rather be anywhere else or doing something else.
It all starts with your intention and how you approach every little thing you do.
Even if it’s something difficult. Even if it’s something you wish you didn’t have to do. Even if it’s something so challenging that you’re unsure if you can manage…
You always have the option to change your mindset and the energy you bring to whatever you do.
Because the energy and intention we place in doing anything will impact how we experience it and how it will impact others.
The energy you bring to anything is the energy that will be reflected back to you in the end.
Like attracts like. Always. This is a law of the universe.
My hope is to continue to be more intentional in setting my energy bar for how I want to show up and behave in all situations. To take a moment before entering any situation to set my intention for whatever it may be. To remember I have a choice in how I respond to challenges and difficulties or anything else set before me.
To enter everything with love, a positive attitude, a compassionate heart, an open & clear mind, and the intention to leave all I touch better than how I found it.
One of my favorite intentions to set is in my work:
Thank you for allowing me to proof and polish this document to its highest & best form!
I say something like this before I enter each manuscript every time I open it. I do my best to remember to include gratitude in my intentions, too, because I’m truly grateful for the opportunities that have come my way.
Now I’m pre-booking book editing services for 2024, and you’re invited to explore the complimentary pre-booking bonuses I have available on theintuitiveeditor.com/bfbonuses2024
So, if you or anyone you know is looking to publish or pitch their book to agents or publishers in the next year, feel free to send me an email or forward this along to whoever this might serve!
See you next week with the next lesson I’ve learned from 2023! <3