The perfect activity for Twixmas…

The week feels strange, between Christmas and New Year. Apparently it’s called Twixmas - adapted from the word ‘betwixt’. While it’s still the old year, thoughts are focused on the year ahead. I feel permission to do not much, because even if I wanted to get things done - everyone else is busy, away or hiding. I like it. It reminds me of the low key relief I felt during Covid - when the world stopped and I finally had a chance to try to catch up.

Now I’m back to always feeling behind. Other people seem to get way more done than me. Oh well. I’ve accepted I’ll probably always feel like that - but instead of focusing on it, I now focus on my strengths. I may not be a ‘work machine’ - but I’m creative, brave and caring.

That brings me to core values. Mine are currently freedom, curiosity and connection. If I reflect back on a few events that happened over the past year, events that I really valued, I can gauge whether my core values have changed or not. It’s important to ‘check in’ with your core values now and then, because we don’t decide them consciously - they’re our internal drivers. Due to our evolving personality, circumstances and experiences- they can change over time.

For me, a trip to Singapore and Darwin was a highlight - and what I valued most was the sense of exploration and the ability to roam around at will. We had fun talking to locals and understanding what matters to them. Freedom, curiosity, connection - check!

Another thing that I valued was delivering workshops to senior high school students. I loved seeing their pride in their work, and sharing fascinating facts about the local ecology. And I loved being my own boss on that project. Freedom, curiosity, connection - check!

Back to this “Twixmas” … it’s the perfect time to reflect on events during the year that were of value to you. Dig into those memories a little and ask yourself, why it was valuable. What did you like so much about it? Jot down a few thoughts. If you do that with a few memories, you’re likely to see a pattern emerge. One or two words or phrases may pop up repeatedly. For example, affection or creativity or achievement. When you see a strong thread running through - that’s very likely to indicate a core value.

As I mentioned, we don’t choose our core values, they arise deep within us. These values will influence our lives whether we are aware of them or not. If our decisions, like work and relationships don’t align with our core values - we’ll lack the resilience and fulfilment that we could otherwise have. When there are choice to be made and directions to be taken - almost guaranteed at the start of a new year - being sure of our core values can really help to identify which options are likely to work out best for us.