I remember in the middle of Summer walking through the park near my home and being unable to imagine the trees bare and ever needing to wear anything heavier than a denim jacket.  

Now it is December, days away from the Holiday season, and the leaves have long left the trees. Day by day I saw it happen, but it was not until I took a moment to fully step back and compare the present moment with the past that I was able to appreciate how starkly different my environment now is.  

This is a season of reflection for many. Taking full stock of what has been learned, achieved and unaccomplished.  
Outwardly defined success is achieved by an incremental process and is a winding road. Much of what it takes to make it happens in secret.
Discipline, repetition, frustration and more disappointment than most would care to admit. Understanding, and to an extent expecting these makes every event almost enjoyable. 

In my personal experience the past year has been about facing new challenges and obstacles. Most of these were from myself. 
I started working with a mentor and was able to see places where my own outmoded thinking needed to be reshaped. Even as a person who loves to learn and transform sometimes certain points were uncomfortable.  

Now looking back I am wondering what all the fuss was about. It is true that we are the biggest enemy to ourselves. Learning to release myself from my own ties has left me with a very useful skill.  I can recognise when someone is trapping themselves, often under the guise of common sense and good reason. Their truth is usually rooted in fear.  

Incrementally, the standards I have set for myself and what I considered to be achievable have been surpassed because I see how small I was thinking but this could only happen by gradually raising my expectations of myself. 

I am not so much winding down for the Holidays, more gearing up for the New Year.  

Love Yourself! 
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