I created Living ROI as a passion, to share my experiences and support others who want to live more authentic, joyful and fulfilling lives.

Dear Friends, This time of year, during the turn of the annual calendar, is one of my favorite times. It’s yet another chance to reflect and reset. I’ve created a tradition of making vision boards on New Year’s Eve. It’s not fancy or complicated. I host a party with family and friends and provide poster boards, magazines, scissors, pens and tape. Some of us like to look up images on the computer and print them out for our vision boards. But in today’s fast-paced world, reflecting and looking forward once a year is not enough. Even businesses, including ROI Communication, have more than one planning cycle a year. So, I do my personal planning at least twice a year, In college, I was on the quarter system, which I loved because it created more fresh starts than the semester system. In the last few years, I’ve started to pay attention to the eight holidays of ancient Celtic tradition.

1. December 21 – The Winter Solstice 2. February 1 or 2 – Imbolc (aka Candlemas and Groundhog Day) 3. March 21 – The Spring Equinox 4. May 1 – Beltane (aka May Day) 5. June 21 – The Summer Solstice 6. August 1 – Lughnasadh (first harvest) 7. September 21 – The Fall Equinox 8. October 31 – Samhain (aka Halloween, Día de Los Muertos and All Saints’ Day)

These eight days, also referred to collectively as The Wheel of the Year, are made up of the chief solar events (Solstices and Equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. For me, paying attention to these days is a way to stay closer to the turning of the seasons.  

Variations of these holidays are part of many ancient traditions, not just Celtic. Each one with its own customs and names, but all are connected to the natural rhythms of the earth.

Modern life makes it easier and easier to lose touch with the natural world, so it helps to have rituals and holidays that reconnect us. This year was wild for me. We really don’t know what is coming down the pike. If someone told me in December of 2018 what was in store for me in 2019, I would have had a hard time imagining it. In fact, I would have been terrified. In truth, we can manage and grow from whatever life presents, and that was certainly the case for me this year. A few years ago, I created the Living ROI Journal, A Weekly Guide for Soulful Living, to share the annual, quarterly and weekly planning practices I’ve been using and refining for many years. You can download the journal for free if you’d like a roadmap for reflecting and planning at the beginning of the year and every week.

For 2020, I am focusing on the qualities of my life: my health, character and habits, my relationships, my contributions and creating peak experiences with loved ones throughout the year.

Having a regular practice of reflecting and looking forward, of thinking about how I want my life to be and moving in that direction, has had such a powerful impact on my life and those around me. My practice of living an intentional life was tested this year. When, for a brief time, my mortality was looking me in the face, I thought to myself, “I’ve lived the life I’ve wanted to live. If this is my time, I feel at peace with how I’ve lived.” Despite practicing and espousing living a thoughtful life, I was still stunned at the peace I felt when the possibility of death confronted me. What a gift! One question that I’ve been answering every 6 months for many years is, “Imagine you only have six months to live. You will be healthy for those six months. What would you do, and with whom?” Then, the goal is to integrate those activities and people into your life now. We don’t know how long we have to live, so let’s make the most of 2020!

Happy New Year from my family to yours!

Barbara Fagan-Smith CEO, ROI Communication Chief Catalyst, Living ROI