Hello, and welcome Janet Beckers here. Well, at the time of you're listening to this, it's just going to be a couple of days before Christmas, before Santa brings you presents while you're sleeping. And it's that time of year that has so many mixed feelings for people, doesn't it? It can be a time when you're just thinking, Oh, fantastic, I'm going to have some time off work, and nobody's going to expect anything from me.
Because really, everybody's just expecting me to be on holidays anyway, I can take a nice deep breath, and allow my brain to just relax from thinking about business durian, then, you know, it might also be a time when you're going, I'm really, really looking forward to seeing my family and all of that beautiful thing that you will say on every Disney Christmas movie.
And which can be such a beautiful thing to look forward to. It can also be a time where it's not a happy time this, you know, there's so many different dynamics that happen with families and other relationships, people who you're missing who are no longer with you. And just you know, and you might be alone.
So this activity that I'm going to be sharing with you today is a really powerful way for you to be able to end the year, on a real high, no matter what Christmas brings up for you, whether you're alone, whether you're with noisy crowds, or whether it's wonderful, or whether it is really stressful, it doesn't matter.
This is an activity that is going to bring you that beautiful positive energy and really set you up to create a fantastic year next year. Sounds pretty magical, doesn't it? So and I think it is. So before I talk about what is the celebration board, what is this ritual that I have been doing with my little family for 16 years, this is the 16th year we've done it, I cannot believe it.
So I'll describe exactly what it is in a moment. But first of all, let me talk about why this end of year ritual is so important to do for your business. Now, when it gets to this time of the year, and where our minds tend to go to right, the camera is about to flip over to the next year. And something about a new year makes you start visualizing how is my life gonna be different?
How am I going to be doing 2023? differently? What am I going to change? What are going to be my big goals. And it's a really, you know, there's there's two sides, one side of it is, yeah, you're visualizing it and trying to think big and but at the same time, you're probably pretty exhausted, you're probably mentally exhausted, just limping to the end of the year, especially after the last few years that we've had.
And so when it comes to planning now, you may have already done planning, but it's a very, it's very often something that you will review again, just naturally in the beginning of January, when it starts the year, you'll start going, Oh, let me look back at what I planned like does this still feel right?
Very often, you're bringing the energy into J what you're doing, which is a little bit of an exhaustion. And it can be very difficult to visualize something new, or visualize what gives you joy when you're coming from that place. So this is a really important activity to do before you sit down and do any kind of planning.
In the next few weeks, do not start doing any of your planning until you have done this beautiful ritual. It will make such a difference to the energy that you bring into your planning. And really getting clear on what it is that you want this new year to be holding for you in your business and also importantly, in your personal relationships, and in all these different areas of your life that are important just to you.
Okay, so that's why this is important. So, let me now tell you all about the concept of the celebration board. And I'm also going to show you how can you adapt that if you're an individual, or if you're a family or if you're a team or just a partnership. So that's so the celebration board works like this.
The than if you were doing it, the way that I do it is my little family of four plus dog, Leo, we all we get together every single year, this year, it's going to be on Christmas Eve, because I know that we will all be together on Christmas Eve, and we're just going to be alone, a little family, we're not going to have other people around us.
So it's a really nice time for us to have a ritual that brings us together, but also gives this sense of celebration and clearing your energy. And the way it works is this, we get together. When we first started doing it 16 years ago, can you believe that? That's when Clancy gee, how old was Clancy?
I really should know that, shouldn't I? So he was I think five at the time. Yeah, for note, maybe maybe a bit older, maybe about seven. So the so when we first started uh, back then it was really a challenge just to get the kids to sit still, for just long enough for them to do this really weird thing that their mother wanted to do.
And we just had like a little piece of paper. Now that both my children are adults. And they actually now say, Hey, Mom, when are we going to do the celebration board, we've got a book in the celebration board. They drive it now because they absolutely love it. And the what we do so this year, what we will be doing is our ritual now is to get all the materials together, which I'll tell you the holiest you need.
And then we make cocktails, because, hey, we really like margaritas. So we make margaritas, we'll even pull up our little dehydrated, orange slices that we make that go in there a real sense of occasion around it. And just to be honest, it doesn't really matter what time of the day we're doing it, that's what will happen.
And then we get together around a big table, you really need a big table or at least floor space. And what you're going to do is get a big piece of paper, I really recommend you get a good size, if you've got a few of you, if it's just you're doing it on your own, why not still go for a big one really make the most of it.
So we get a big piece of paper, which we every year when this is completed, we stick it up in the hallway that goes to the top floor where you know, bedrooms are. And so we pass by that multiple times a day. So we've stick it up on the wall in the hallway, and it stays there for a whole year.
So it's it's not just something that you do once and it's gone. It's going to be there for a long time. So we get together a great big piece of paper, like an a three and or even bigger. And then we get lots of different colored texters or pencils, the brighter, the better, because you want it to be able to cope with any sunshine that may last on it for the year.
And that's what you do you bring that together, then what you do, as either yourself or with your family or whoever it is, is you sort of claim a part of the big board the paper yourself. And each person sort of has their own little corner. So they'll write their name, you know, normally very decorated.
And then what we do is we think back from the beginning of the year, and this is where it is fantastic. Having social media if you use it or using your telephone, where you're where you've collected, you know, you've been taking photos because I can never remember what's happened.
So we go back looking at, you know, our photos, social media, those sorts of things. And together as a group, what we do is we write down things to celebrate things that we did either individually so if it's individually your you might do a little drawing or you just write the words and a little arrow to name if it's things that we did as a family.
Well then we will put them towards the middle of the paper on the law put arrows towards them. And Leo the dog has his own little spot as well where we put great things that he did, like went to the beach a lot. Janet Beckers 09:45 made friends snipped a lot of bottoms. So the important part here is you are reflecting back on what went well.
Now I'll give you an idea of some of the things Hey there, I will be putting, I will be doing this here, I will be putting down the now shared one is that this was the year of live gigs, live music gigs. And my husband and I, Douglas and I, we set the intention to go to two live gigs a year. So that's at least 24 for the year.
So we're going to put all of those down, and one or both of our adult kids came to came with us to multiple ones of that, because that's a passion that we share as a family. So that will definitely be going down. But then another thing that I'll be putting there, which may not seem as significant is, you know, we'll be putting things like, you know, the beautiful flowers that, that Douglas grew in pots, so that I can sit there and have my morning tea looking at these flowers, that I kept my mum out of hospital for a year, honestly, that has been a huge achievement.
So that is a really important thing, you know, structures that I put in place to really help her to she's quite elderly. So those sorts of things are really important. It could also be when the kids first started, I can remember Clancy putting down that he made a new friend, and that he can kick a soccer ball really well.
That was really, really significant for him. When it comes to business, I will put down things that for me, were big milestones. Now, these do not have to be things like published a book, How to ridiculously monumental launch, or any of those new those big things, of course, they go in any of those big things you've done.
But it can also be other things like I produced a podcast every single week. How was that for, you know, for something to create that is really good, you might have done something else really consistently that you're going to celebrate. Other things that I'll put down is I've got to work with some really fantastic clients closely this year.
And she I've enjoyed it. So for me, that is a big thing. There are some years where I have been putting down all these different awards I've won, and these amazing things that happen. And then there's been other years where my personal life really took me away from my business a lot.
And I can remember one year having, you know, my mom was in and out of hospital a lot. And we didn't think that she would survive. So I was really working a lot less hours, I could not really you know, there were lots of things that we didn't do that year. So when we first did the celebration, I thought, Gee, that hasn't actually been a fantastic year has it because, you know, we haven't really gone away on holidays, there haven't been humongous milestones happening in the business, gee, and then we all kind of looked at it and thought, Oh, that's a bit of a sad year.
And then I was able to look at that and go, You know what, this has been a friggin awesome year. Because now what I'm going to put here is I had the freedom to be with somebody I love and keep them alive, keep them healthy, keep them happy. That is a huge achievement that my business allowed me to do that.
And the things that were important to me my relationships, I put them first. So it doesn't if you're if you're really struggling to find what is it that I want to celebrate. And you might be feeling as that as if that year was not as you know what you wanted it to be. First of all, be kind to yourself, okay, because we've had a pretty challenging last few years.
But also, sometimes you will set these huge intentions. But this the things that you may have said his intentions may not have happened. But the lessons that you've learned your personal evolution, during that time, can be worth so much more and that's going to carry you into next year.
So the main thing for you to keep in mind here is we are really, really focusing on what was great. What do you want to remember as the highlights, and it's fantastic if you're doing it with somebody else, where you've done things with them because you one person will remember or remember we went kayaking and we I kayak a lot with my husband.
That's one of our fun things we like to do. So, you know, we'll list all the different places we explored with a kayak that that a lot of times All have forgotten about. So that's a really nice thing, what you want to be able to have at the end of this is to be able to look at this board, it's really great to J make it colorful, because that also activates those parts of your brain that help you remember.
And that also, you know, give that, you know, get all those little happiness, chemicals happening. Because the whole idea of this is for you to at the end of this activity. And when you look at this celebration board over the next few days, or next few weeks, or like us, you know, for the whole year, just, you know, in your peripheral vision, and every now and then you'll just stop and have a look, is that you go?
Yes, actually, I am doing well. There are great things happening in my life, here is the evidence. So whenever you're, you know, throughout the rest of the year, if you're ever you're having those times, when you have self doubt, or you feel as if it's harder than it should be, you can go back and remind yourself, and it also gives you that beautiful energy that like I said right at the beginning, so that when you do start to plan the next year, you're planning from a place of thinking, you know, what, I actually have got things that are working really well in my life.
And, and those things may not be the things that you intended them to be at the beginning of the year. But make sure that you acknowledge, celebrate them, and really own them, okay. Now. So what we do as our family, so we've, most years surprisingly, we have been able to be together, even though you know, my children, I've got one that's moved back home for a while, but you know, for quite a long time, neither of them were living with us.
In fact, one year that we did this, Clancy my youngest was in India, and actually found a bar to sit in. And we did it together. So we all did it over zoom. So as Clancy drew things, he would hold them up for us. And then we would draw them onto the big family board. And we've also occasionally had times when we've brought in somebody else who happened to be with us whether it was a current partner of either foods or plants that they know, they got to take part of school because again, they were a big part of that year, even if they are no longer in a relationship.
That particular year, there were things to celebrate. So you want to be able to go back and remember and celebrate those. So it's such a great thing to do. And it can also be a great thing to do with extended family or friends. If you're getting together over the holidays. Now, how do you adapt this if it's just you, or you want to adapt it for a team?
Now, I have been sharing this exercise every year, I think it's for about 10 years I was if you go to my YouTube channel, so you just YouTube and look for Janet Beckers, you will find going back until when I first started shooting videos like it's there's at least 10 years that I have been sharing this exercise with people always at this time of the year.
And the thing that I love is that all these beautiful clients and beautiful people who are subscribers to my email list or to my YouTube share with me how they have made this their ritual in, in their family, and how they have adapted it to make it their own. So when I'm sharing with you, different adaptations, these are ones that people who are in our, our community here, what they've done, and there was one woman who was telling me well, she's on her own, she doesn't really, you know, include family as part of this because for her, her celebration is very much about what it feels like for her.
And that's great. You know, it's She lives alone and she doesn't necessarily want to bring everybody else in and she loves the ritual she has, you know, she she has her own way that she creates it and she creates a lovely ritual around it to do with candles and creating a really nice environment and great music.
And she has a pet I can't remember if it's a cat or Oh, but I'm sure it's very, very cute. And they do that together. And she absolutely loves it every single year for years and years and years, she will send me a message to tell me, you know, hey, I've done it, thank you so much for, for actually giving me this idea to start with.
Now, I've also had people who do this as an end of ritual with their teams. Now, a lot of our teams are, you know, virtual, especially after we've had locked downs. So you can be doing this as a virtual exercise. And you could even be doing this by either people are creating their own individual one, and then photographing it.
And then you J can create one way or you know, a graphic where you've got them all together. Or you could even be using the right boards that come with Zoom, or teams, or whichever, whatever format you use. So you can still make it work really, really well, virtually, like the year that Clancy was in India, it went really, really well.
Now, or we also had another year actually, where Douglas and I, we we weren't, we were house sitting the beautiful home up in Airlie Beach, that was the client of mine, a lovely client with her parents place. And so we just drove up there slowly stayed two weeks, we did lots of kayaking, and said to both of our late teenage, they weren't adults, yet, they were still at home where we just went See, we're out of here.
And so they had to call us and I'd forgotten about that one. So we did that one virtually, as well. So and then when we got together, we put them both together, I'd forgotten about that one. There you go. Well, we ran away from home as well. So yeah, there's so you can do that virtually the other, it's also a really nice activity that you could be doing.
With a team, if you've got a team where you're together in an office where you can actually get together is so these may be more in that case, there will be some celebrations of people's personal things. But what you'll be doing then is the focus on what did we achieve? Or what did each individual achieve?
And what are we as a business as a collective? What did we, what did we want to celebrate? What were some milestones, what were things that happened in terms of, you know, relationships within our business, so you can be focusing it on that way. So what ever works for you just stick with the main concept that the whole idea of this is for you to really acknowledge what has gone well, and to celebrate that and have a ritual around it, where you can then go, Hey, 2022, you know what, there were challenges that year and look at these wonderful things that I can look back at with gratitude, and celebration, and kiss 2020 2022.
Goodbye, send it off with with loves and things, because that allows you to bring that beautiful energy in to setting your attention is reviewing your plans. And to be able to do that with a sense of confidence. Because it's so much easier to come into a planning session with the confidence that is actually earned from really acknowledging what went well.
Okay. So I would love to hear from you. What has worked really well, for you have you done this, or if you've done this, I would so love to hear it. If you have if you're happy to send a photo, you can blur out things that you don't want people to see. But I'd love to see it that would really, really, really make me happy.
And what I will do is I will make a photo you don't that we can go here on this post, if you go to the show notes. And I will get out all of our past celebration boards, I have them all rolled up in a cylinder. And this will be year number 16. And that's a lovely thing too. We go back and we look at the past years and review and kind of go oh wow, remember that forgotten about that.
It's a really lovely ritual to do. So I'll find that photo and see if I can share some and when we do ours, I'll take some photos and you can come and see as we're doing ours. What does it actually look like when the Beckers family gets together and do this celebration board and I'll put that over on social media as well.
So I would really love to hear from you if you do this. And if you have friends, family, you know people in business that you'd I'd like to share this with pass this on or even better. Show them yours and or celebrate with them own it, you can claim this as yours, baby, just, you know, if you can share this morning and have lots of other people doing this beautiful activity, it's going to make the world a happier place.
So I really do recommend that you do that as well. Okay. Now, I hope you have a really lovely Christmas break. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope that you get to have some time where nobody's really expecting too much of you, business wise. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of expectations.
Yeah, eating, cooking, all that sort of stuff that you will have elsewhere. But let's have some beautiful time that you can enter the new year with a beautiful sense of anticipation and gratitude for the previous year. Okay, bye
