Grounded New Year Prompts: Reflect, Reset, and Begin with Purpose (Part 1)

149 - As the year ends, do you feel like you’ve been hoping and coping, just getting by, or have you been being and doing?

In this episode, I’m sharing grounded journal prompts to help you reflect on the past year with honesty and compassion, then reset in a way that feels aligned, achievable, and meaningful. This is especially for the woman who is successful in many areas of life, but feels stuck in her health or weight loss patterns and is tired of starting over from a dopamine-high burst of motivation.

You’ll be guided to:

1. Begin with gratitude and expand your awareness
2. Capture what you’re celebrating, including micro wins that matter
3. Look at challenges and lows without rushing past the emotion
4. Notice patterns, values shifts, and what you want more of in this season
5. Process shame and disappointment so they don’t quietly drain your energy
6. Move toward goals that are tied to your values and supported by identity work

If you want to feel lighter in your mind and body, and begin the new year rested instead of exhausted, start here.

Next week in Part 2, I’ll share more prompts and the next layer of the work.

----------

If you want support putting this into practice, A Fresh Start – Feel Lighter in 2 Weeks, which kickstarts on January 5th, gives you a doable framework to reset habits and move forward with more ease.

https://bit.ly/AFreshStart2026CEC

And if you’d like to talk through what support fits best, you can book a complimentary consult for clarity and next steps.

https://www.clarendasempowerment.com/free-consult

#journalprompts #personalgrowth #womenshealth #stressmanagement #goalsetting #weightlossjourney #sustainablehealth #lifecoaching #ClarendasEmpowermentCoaching

You can always find out more at:

https://www.clarendasempowerment.com/

Transcript

0:00

This past year, would you say that you've been hoping and coping, a.k.a. just getting by, or would you say that you've been 'being' and 'doing'? Throughout this podcast, I'll be sharing some powerful prompts that can make this your best year ever. No, you're not too old and it's not too late. I suggest that you listen to or watch this podcast in its entirety. I keep it short, impactful, and empowering because I know my listeners usually have a lot going on. I'm Clarenda Price from Clarenda's Empowerment Coaching, and I help successful women like you who are thriving in so many areas of life, like home and relationships and work, and yet struggle with the whole weight loss scenario, especially maintaining the weight after they've taken the time, energy, and money to get it off. Once they learn how to balance their hunger hormones and realize the real reason they're reaching for food, when really they're not hungry, that's when the choices and habits stick. The healthy habits, that is. I help women lose weight with exercise and without exercise. So stop ruling yourself out. Let this be your year to look back on and say, this is when I pivoted. This is when I chose to work on myself, to make myself the healthiest version, and that will feel so rewarding and amazing. You deserve to feel this way, but you have to say yes to that in order for it to happen. Welcome to episode 149 Grounded New Year Prompts: Reflect, Reset, and Begin with Purpose (Part 1). There are so many wonderful ways that we can end one year and begin another. I've tried a lot of them. I've learned from each one and found value in them. Some felt so exciting in the moment, but I have to admit it was a dopamine high and then I felt the crash later. Why? Because some of the goals I set were truly delusional, and what goes up must come down. So that unrealistic high will create a realistic low. One of the universal laws. This year, I'll include a mix of how I've planned in the past, but I will change it in keeping it very grounded, aligned, and therefore achievable. Today, in this short time we have together, I wanna give you a taste of it so you can get started. I now have a practice of starting everything with gratitude. So I will ask myself, who and what am I grateful for, especially for this past year? That's your first prompt, so write it down and answer it. And as you move through the questions, you'll have more to add to the list. Keep it growing and feel your heart expand. Then I'll pull out my calendar and bring up the photos on my phone. And I do both of these simultaneously because often I've either deleted pictures or I've uploaded them to my Google Drive. So I might miss a training that I did where I had a shift that I want to remember, and I want to thank myself for going and spending that time and money. As you scroll through your photos and events, I want you to make two columns on your piece of paper. One. What are you celebrating? Include your microwins, people, places, moments. Number two. What were your challenges or lows? And, yes, include the messy ones. Sit with those. Don't rush through it. For the celebration list, circle what you want to keep doing, what you want more of, what worked well, and if it was a one time occasion, simply put a heart next to it. Acknowledge it, savor it, and smile. Give yourself and others credit and celebrate the heck out of it. And that's it for that category, just for now. Next, look at your challenging or lows list. Ask, what did I learn from this? Are there common patterns or habits? What am I more aware of and how did this help me grow? Maybe you had a health scare, a financial loss, relationship problems. Maybe you didn't follow through on what you said you were going to do at the beginning of the year or even something that doesn't feel as significant now, but it was at the time. Something like travel complications. Now we can go a level deeper. Let's go back to the celebrating list. What did you love most and in what form would you like to experience that again? What would that look like for you? What and who do you need to help you get there in a way that feels grounding and empowering and certain? Don't forget to check in to ask, have my values changed for this season? Whether it be the season of the year or the season in your life. If so, do these align with this next level that I want to go? We'll only continue to do what aligns with what we value now. If we white knuckle it, we'll eventually quit, create illness, and resent it. It's not necessarily what you"should" do, even though that's how we've been programmed. That's a powerful shift that I'm implementing personally and also working with my clients in doing the same. Let's go deeper now with the challenging or lows list. Before you ask, "What do I want to do differently this year?" it's really important to acknowledge and sit with the emotion that you have when you think back to the past year. Often it is shame and disappointment. It's human nature to want to skip over that and not feel it because it doesn't feel great, and just move directly into action. Or maybe you're experiencing or will experience when you start to do the work, of what I didn't notice myself doing until my mentor, Dr. Trivedi, stopped me in my tracks. We were in our year-end evaluation. My brain was providing me with all of the things that I didn't do this year, and I was in full on judgment of myself. I'm thankful that he stopped me in my tracks. It is such a great example that no matter how much we know intellectually, it's still very easy to get caught up in our default patterning and not see what our brain is doing. He had the outside perspective. He reminded me of how much I have grown, how much I have accomplished, even through all the pivots and changes. I'm glad I chose to be vulnerable and open, even though it didn't feel great, because it brought it to my awareness. I'm not sure I would've gotten out of my funk as quickly as I did if left to my own vices. In fact, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have. Acknowledging it actually brought me some relief because it allowed me to process it. I got to experience it and feel it, acknowledge it in my body, and then let it pass. Those emotions and thoughts were still in the background of my mind. So even though they weren't to the forefront, they were still depleting my energy and confidence. What's coming up for you? What flitted through your mind? What emotion are you feeling? And is it an emotion that you would feel uncomfortable sharing with someone else? Maybe it's something you wouldn't feel proud of to say to someone else... that's normal. But we all have those moments. We all have those things that we're not proud of. That brings up often the emotion of shame. So important to process it. And it doesn't have to be a big event to experience that emotion. So make sure you're not gaslighting yourself in thinking that it shouldn't be such a big deal. If we don't process and release it, it will stay in our bodies, and that creates physical and mental illness. It may show up as stress, overwhelm, anxiety, or depression. It's common to experience physical wake up symptoms. Things like poor quality sleep, high blood pressure, inflammation, high resting heart rate, blood sugars, and more. Once you've done this, you can now ask, what do I want to do differently this year? Maybe you haven't been consistent in carving out time for a morning or evening routine. Ask, why not? What is your challenge? Does everyone else's needs feel more important than yours? Family might be one of your highest values, but how did that work for you? How can you find a balance between taking care of them and taking care of yourself? Because if you're depleted, if you're burnt out, you really can't serve at your highest level, to your family, to others in relationships, to work, to those that you serve. Review last year's goals. Get curious. Why do you think they weren't accomplished? Maybe you set them as SMART goals, like we've all been taught. The acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, or attainable, Relevant and Timely or time bound. That's great, but let me share a little secret that I've learned. If that goal isn't fully aligned with your values or you've done the work in tying it to your highest values, there'll be a disconnect. You may think that you know your highest values, and if you're anything like me, you'll be surprised when you actually do the values assessment tool. It's one that I do personally as well as use with my VIP clients. This year, I'll be wording my goals a little differently. I've already thought of one and it's already resonating with me because it truly aligns with my values. And it's not just my vision, which is ego-based, it's also my mission. It's my purpose of why I am here. I'm here to help women optimize their health and life. I'm not sure if the woman from Florida, and I won't say her name 'cause I haven't asked her permission yet, if she heard me say that before, that I'm here to optimize women's health and lives. But that's exactly what she said. She said, I want to optimize my health. It's time. She said it was a 10 out of 10 on her scale of how important it was for her right now. So guess what? We started yesterday. Yes, even before the new year begins. She was delighted when I gave her that early one-on-one option. She's ready to release those 35 pounds that's beginning to affect her health before it's a big awakening. She's not willing to wait any longer until she has symptoms before making a change. I'm so proud of her, especially after hearing her story. Maybe your answer to the question,"What do I want to do differently this year?", is you actually want to set a goal or goals again. It's so common to stop making goals because it's too depressing and discouraging when you go for it for about a month and then you drop away. If that's you, congratulations for still being here. And if you can see the results of not setting goals. Maybe you set them last year, but you're now realizing maybe I didn't set them in the right way. Well, you've got some awareness now and that is your first step. Inside the Feel Light Mind and Body community, we do some identity work on your present and future self. We ask some high quality questions so we can get some high quality answers. That is the awareness that we're looking for. Once we understand that next level of why we do what we say we're not going to do, then we can make a decision and we can pivot and shift and start saying, "I am a woman who...", and you can fill in that blank. How would you like to complete that sentence? Would it be, I am a woman who values her sleep? I'm a woman who prioritizes being unplugged and being in bed 9:30, 10 o'clock, or maybe it's I'm a woman who is going to be honest with herself this year. Or I'm a woman who's going to move her body 30 to 40 minutes, five to six days a week. I am a woman who is working on reaching her ideal weight for her body type. I am a woman who cares about my health and I can love my body now and still make a difference for my future self. On one session last week, my client said, I want to talk more about visceral fat. So we did that. We're setting some goals for her, for this coming year, and I'm excited to see how she works with that, along with her other life coaching. There's a lot of people we do a combo of that, and it works beautifully because our mind and body are all integrated. Our life and our health, our wealth, relationships, our work, they're all intertwined. There are so many other great prompts. If you have one that you love, let me know because I'm always looking to add to my collection. But another one is, what would I love to have more of? And what would I need to believe to say yes? What do I wanna release and let go of that's holding me back? Old beliefs? Approval addiction a.k.a. people pleasing? Overcommitting? Under-committing? It can feel like a lot. I know. And you don't have to do it all. Just start, just start answering some of these questions. One of my VIP clients asked me if I was going to do another in-person workshop, and I had been thinking about it because I love that in-person connection, but nothing was really sticking out in my mind. But as soon as she asked that question, this creative thought came up. I'm like, oh, this is what I would talk about, teach, integrate, if I do so. So it's not official. I have nothing on the board yet, other than I looked at my calendar and thought, hmm, Saturday afternoon, January 17th could work. So stay tuned. You'll know, you'll be the first to know here or, um, on my weekly email list. And I'm not making that decision until I've done this work, until I've gone through my plan, which will be done tomorrow or the next day. And I also have a tentative title. As I mentioned, that idea popped up, so if you want to private message me, I can share that with you. Unfortunately, the way social media world is, I've had the experience of putting something out there and then someone else taking it before I could make it official. So I'm just gonna keep it for now, but you will be the first to know. What I can tell you is we'll be looking at it in all seven areas of your life and coming from an intrinsic inspirational point of view rather than the external motivation because that's what's lasting. I'll also be sharing my values assessment tool, which I usually reserve for one-on-one clients, but where it's in person, we can work through that together and that just helps align with everything else that we do. Just talking about this lights me up. That little fire. The embers are there, and now it's fanning the fire a little bit. I know that I will keep it to 10 women. That's my thought right now, so that it can be that really intimate experience. It will be purposeful and heart-led. You'll be guided to come from a place of self-compassion and understanding. The more self-aware you are, the more you're in control of your life. Next week in part 2, I'll be sharing some of the work that I've done. And if you felt any shifts as you've answered the questions, please let me know. I'd love to support you and cheer you on. I'll also add a few more prompts so that you can continue self-exploring and knowing more of what you want and don't want. So make sure you hit subscribe or follow and turn that bell on for notification so that you don't miss any of the notifications. January will be filled with a lot of dopamine-driven noise. So come back here so you can feel grounded and focussed as we do this valuable work. Remember, the goal isn't to end the year positive. We talked about that in last week's episode number 148. Let's choose to end it balanced, grounded, and peaceful. Answering this episode's journal prompts will be one powerful way to do so. In addition, think about ending the year aligned with the people and places that matter the most to you. What would that look like? What makes you feel connected at ease and fulfilled? You may have outgrown the past version of how you celebrated. Maybe now you value having a clear mind and energy on that first day of the new year. Or rather than starting the year with this long to-do list, you focus on one thing. You focus on gaining momentum, and you focus on celebrating every micro win. How would it feel to be present instead of trying to be everywhere? That might mean staying home instead of driving a couple of hours out of a perceived obligation. Only you know. So, tap into your body, tap into your nervous system, and just ask, notice how it feels. Try out each option and see which one feels the most grounded. What if you considered what you want and what they want? And then come back to your core values in deciding. Say yes to what aligns and be willing to feel a little uncomfortable to say no to someone when it doesn't. People are entitled to think and feel however they want about that and so are you. It's okay. How would it feel to start the new year rested instead of exhausted? What choices can you make? What can you re-decide on to make that happen? Maybe it's limiting sugar and alcohol to one occasion instead of whenever it's in front of you. Maybe it's choosing one late night instead of multiple ones. Maybe it's not rushing to take all the decorations down and instead you just continue on into January, enjoying the ambiance. I know I decorated late, so I will be keeping them up, and I'm going to enjoy that because in Eastern Canada, those cold dark days and nights, I like to feel all cozied up and have the lights on and just reflect and remember on that special time we all have together. Whatever you decide, finish the year celebrating the growth opportunities and gratitude for both the highs and the lows. That's life and experiencing it means you're alive. I wish you all a healthy new year. I'm looking forward to working with those who choose to invest in themselves in one of my offers for life or weight loss coaching so that they can feel lighter in their hearts, in their mind, in their body. We will be working through this question together: Who do I need to become to create the results? And we'll work through this with optimism. Optimism is not positivity. To reiterate from last week's episode, it's finding joy and hope in the journey. Not because it's easy, but because it's meaningful and will be worthwhile. The result is you feel light in your mind and body and have more clarity and peace of mind. Thank you, thank you for supporting me and this podcast. I appreciate every one of the downloads, the feedback, the comments, the hearts, the reviews, the shares, it all matters. Some of you have been with me from day one. I'd love to know who you are, and there's others that are just discovering this for the first time, so welcome. I hope you come back. I do have a little favor. If you haven't subscribed to my YouTube channel, please do so. That's newer for me. I didn't start in there until maybe episode 130 or a hundred and something. So I really would like to build that platform up and I will make a note of what it is today and then I'll watch to see if we can grow this. And I'll also be celebrating on my stories when we hit different milestones. I believe that every woman is worthy of a transformational health experience. I know it may sound cliche, but let's make this our healthiest year yet.