My new year’s message last year was ‘I wish you a new year and new decade overflowing with abundance & purposefulness’. Having gone through perhaps the most ‘interesting’ year of our life, I wonder if this wish had an impact or not. I suppose it depends on how we look at 2020. While many of us had challenges in our jobs, businesses, finances, relationships and health, it is important to reflect on and find the hidden gifts. 

With regard to our jobs, did we find more creativity and productivity, having to work from home? Did we end up finding a better job if we were made redundant. Or did we find better ways of using our time and talent if we were not re-employed? 

With regard to our business, did we find creative new products and markets, did we find more efficient ways of working and communicating? Did we right size and re-allocate responsibilities?

With regard to financials, did we find better and bigger sources of income? Did we prioritise expenses and found we were living better at a lesser cost? Did we find ways of re-deploying our assets and re-negotiating our liabilities? 

With regard to our relationships, did we find more time with close family, did we connect with more people using virtual methods, did our limited contact result in limited conflicts? Did we learn to trust and respect better?  

With regard to our health, did we become more conscious about our conduct in society so that we do not get and give germs to each other. Did we change our sleeping, resting, eating and exercising habits to strengthen our immune system? Did we find better ways of caring for ourselves and found home remedies to reduce the visit to the doctors?

My reflection on the above questions shows me that my life was filled with abundance and purposefulness as per my New Year’s wish last year and I hope it was the same for you. If not, we can help manifest such abundance and purposefulness through the power of intention and love. 

Another question that comes up is ‘should we plan for 2021, given that our plans were totally irrelevant to what the universe had in store for us’. I remember something mentioned by my guru ‘Omar S Khan’ at the ‘Mastery of Self – Playshop’ 25 years ago. If you want God to laugh, tell her your plans. If you want God to laugh out loud, tell her your business plans. 

This calls for a different way of planning, what I call ‘Loving Intentions’. It starts with Creating powerful intention is a method of informing the universe. This will result in appropriate opportunities coming towards you while your subconscious mind starts to liberate resources required to respond to such opportunities.

Given below are a few questions that will help create the intention. 

1. What would be the intentions that will be most aligned with my purpose?

(in case you have not articulated a purpose yet, click here to learn how to do it) 

• What would the intentions you and your family, friends and team be most proud of?
• What would be the intentions that would add most value to your family, friends and team? 
• What were the biggest learnings about life from 2020?

Reflect on these questions alone, as a family or as a team. This exercise will help create positive intentions. Thereafter inform the universe of this intention by writing it down or presenting it using unique artful forms of yourself, family or team. 

Once the universe if informed of the intention it is important for you to take the first step towards making the intentions real. Once the first step is taken, see how the universe responds to it and then decide on the next step. Be in this process and enjoy the best year of your life. 

I wish you a year filled with love and abundance.