Fan the flame of Sankalpa with Your Character Strengths
November 22, 2020
I started this journal in 2019 called "This Year I Will: A 52-Week Guided Journal to Achieve Your Goals" by Tiffany Louise and I should be finishing it this week, yet...#2020.
I enjoy when I do sit down to reflect on the past week and set intentions for the upcoming week. This journal has been a pleasant companion during the unpredictable nature of this entire year. Every weekly reflection ends with a power statement. I see my power statement as my sankalpa for the week ahead. In Sanskrit "san” means a connection with the highest truth and “kalpa” means vow. Sending energy towards "I am..." allows attention to flow towards my power statement.
My harnessed attention allows energy to flow in that direction empowering me to return to a place of trust and kindness towards myself throughout the week ahead, especially on low energy days and when my patience wears thin.
Each of us has been through so many challenges this year that we could never foresee. I used to be extremely hard on myself to not have the ability to heal a situation, even when it is completely out of my control. Yoga allows me space to drop deeper into my true self. Within this space I learn to trust myself on a deeper level and release guilt surrounding my lack of control. This is a work in progress. I have also been actively working on creating firmer boundaries with my energy and releasing any sensations of feeling selfish as I create these boundaries. I realize as I create these boundaries that I have more time to honor my dharma (truth) utilizing my character strengths.
Do you know your character strengths?
Taking the free VIA Institute on Character Strengths Test allowed me to hone in on my greatest strengths to understand myself better and create a more meaningful existence. I took the character strengths test a few years ago and then took it again recently. My top two remained the same: Honesty and Love, but my third strength changed from Appreciation of Beauty to Bravery. I thought this was incredibly powerful since I had been through a few miscarriages since the first time I took the test and definitely have cultivated a braver outlook through my grief journey.
My wish for you is that you take the 10 minute character strengths test and write down your strengths, especially your top 5, or top 3, and put that list somewhere where you can reflect on it daily or weekly.
I use my list to reflect on decisions and actions I have taken, as well as for dreaming and planning my future goals and milestones. I also recommend the journal if you enjoy written reflection, as I do. This journal allows me to dream big and put respect and self-trust into those dreams so I am actually planning my future one manifested day at a time!
“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” ~Golda Meir~