Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024

Reflecting on the Past, Resolving for the Future: Embracing Community in the New Year.

Goodbye 2023

I love the New Year holiday; I always have. The parties (I used to go to, haha), the excitement, the love, the joy. When the clock strikes 12 am, it's all about love, hugs, and happiness in anticipation of what's to come and in gratitude for what's passed and present in your life. It's the best.

In the past several years, I've started focusing on my "exit" from the present year rather than jumping right into my goals and dreams for the next year.

I am a huge fan of reflection and introspection. The end of the year gives the opportunity to do just that—sit back and reflect, contemplate, take a "holistic review," if you will. Another opportunity to celebrate successes, grieve over losses, and recount adventures, vacations, business triumphs (or trials). A moment to act as a witness to your own life.

What had I dreamed of that hadn't come to fruition? Where did I have tension? Stress? Any goals left hanging? Tasks and to-dos unfinished? Desires unmet? How did I achieve the goals I did meet? Where was I successful, and what did that look like? I think of the whole picture—career, relationships, spirituality, health, etc.

It gives me a chance to exit my year with acknowledgment, not an "Irish Exit" (which you all know I’m guilty of 😉 ) —to give my proper "goodbyes" and "thank yous” before moving on to 2024. How I exit is equally important to how I enter, in this case, and in many cases, so I’ve learned.

My momentum in the past tended to be too far forward. Introspection and reflection forced a pause, a time to catch my breath, to recount what happened, before rushing off to the next thing. To process and digest events and tie up any “loose ends”.

I do like to be intentional with my year moving forward but, rather than a hard resolution, I prefer a macro approach to my year, using goals to support this overarching idea. For the most part, I simply move forward with some goals in mind, a word, a theme for my year.

Reflecting better supports this process and brings forth what could use some adjustment, not what I think should be adjusted. It reveals a pathway to more joy, moving aside the clutter that can be distracting at times.

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In my reflections this year, the word "community" kept coming up. In contemplating this word, many thoughts have swirled around, leaving me with this: our local community connections are so important and often overlooked. Especially when many, if not most of us, experience moments of loneliness and isolation.

The people we interact with on a daily or weekly basis—the store clerk, the gal at your favorite coffee shop who always makes your latte just right, the parking attendant, co-workers, familiar faces in group classes, the hostess at your go-to restaurant, the front desk receptionist—I think you get the idea.

These are people I see often, more than many of my most cherished friends and family. Yet, for the most part, if you asked me the names of any of these lovely humans, I'd say I don't know. This struck me.

How is it that I don't know the name of the girl who helps me bag my groceries two, sometimes three times a week? The friendly man who helps me at Self Check-Out, what's his name? How do I not know?!

Community is more than the people I choose to be in community with; it's also the people who geographically share space with me. It's the village we all talk about but often don't take advantage of.

In the coming year I intend to learn their names, make eye contact, and share friendly conversation as I complete whatever job, task, errand it is that I'm doing, in gratitude for what they do.

To build community.

To show interest in all of my community members, not just the ones I choose, or wish to be in community with. To make my weekly errands a little more joyful, more connected, more human. To take action and soften the feelings of being alone in a world where we are so connected, yet so isolated and alone at times.

While the actions may be simple, overtime, I look forward to seeing how all of the small, seemingly simple, actions I take support the bigger picture— to build community.

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Hello 2024

Exciting changes for ESO, my studio and brand, in 2024!

ESO Transform Within, formerly known as ESO Live Well, has a whole new look!

I kicked off ESO back in 2015 with the mission to guide people on their wellness journey, and now, after 8 years, ESO has undergone its own remarkable transformation - from the inside out.

As with everything, brands go through changes, they evolve, mature, and sometimes need a bit of redirection after the inevitable entrepreneurial distractions 😜 😅. ESO taken that journey, and I’m thrilled to present our new look, tag-line, and website. It was the perfect moment to hit the refresh button, to reconnect with ESO’s roots and recognize how far ESO has come. Despite the changes to our external look, internally the goal remains constant - supporting individuals on their wellness journey, starting from within.

You can check out the new site here: www.ESO-transform-within.com

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My last offering of 2023:

I’ll be doing a LIVE class on IG this Sunday at 10am, I’d love for you to join!

Things on my list for ESO in 2024:

• Plan an ESO retreat

• Workshops - Any areas of interest?! What are you curious to learn more about? Send an email, reply in comments, or text me.

• Community field trip - I’d love any fun ideas?! Last year we went to Perennial Ranch in San Diego. Share in comments or reach out!

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If you need some inspiration for your Exit, here is a lovely newsletter from my favorite, Caroline Myss. She offers 7 Questions for the New Year, you can read more HERE.

And I love these notebooks if you’re in the market, you can pick what type of paper you want inside, they are spiral bound, and have size variations. Plus, I love their story.

Wishing you all the happiest New Year!

Much love, health, and happiness!

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To book a discovery call with me in 2024 please email me at Vas@eso-livewell.com.