December Outlook #Reverb11

This month I’m focusing on reflection, and this year I’ve been left to my own devices. This holds great promise for me — and for you, too! I’m reviewing previous prompts from the Best 09 and Reverb 10 series, and I’m building my own month-long series dedicated to reflecting on the past year and manifesting what’s next. I’ll be recycling old prompts, tweaking other prompts, and creating a few of my own. Here’s how this will work:

1. I will post a list of prompts and all pertinent info (author, details, etc.).
2. I will write (and schedule) posts responding to the prompts.
3. You respond to the prompts on your blog, in your notebook, or through any creative outlet of your choosing. There’s no pressure to do this everyday — only respond when a prompt speaks to/ inspires you. Batch them, mix them up, and have fun with it!
4. Share your response on Twitter using the #reverb11 hashtag — no need to fix what isn’t broken, right?

And now onto the prompts!

1. Reverb: How did your 2011 shape up? Did it meet your expectations? Did your words manifest during 2011?
2. One Word (Written by Gwen Bell): Encapsulate the year 2011 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2012 for you?
3. Community (Written by Cali Harris): Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2011? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2012?
4. Book (Inspired by Gwen Bell): What was your favorite book this year? Why?
5. Blog Find of the Year (Inspired by Gwen Bell): Share the love — which blog did you discover this year?
6. Local Love: Tell us about a local business you discovered this year. What makes them stand out from the crowd?
   
7. Project (Inspired by Gwen Bell): What project did you start this year? How did it go? What will you start next year?
8. Map: Imagine a map existed, guiding you towards your dreams. Try to envision the route. How are you going to map out your dreams for 2012?
9. What Matters Now (Inspired by Seth Godin): Think about the here and now. What matters most to you right now? How are you going to nurture what matters in during 2012?
10. Reframing (Inspired by Patrick Rhone): How are you framing yourself and your life? Could you reframe things going into 2012?
11. Time: Time is a valuable resource. Did you spend 2011 wisely? What can you do to maximize your time during 2012?
12. Health: How did you treat your body this year? You only get this one vessel one time around. How will you treat your body next year?
13. Path (Inspired by Patrick Rhone): Patrick Rhone tweeted “some times the best path chooses you.” What path has chosen you?
14. Follow Your Heart (Inspired by Teresa Deak): Where will you follow your heart to in 2012?
15. Travel (Inspired by Tara Hunt and Gwen Bell): Think of a place, trip, or event that really resonated with you. Tell us about it, how you felt, what you did, who you were with, etc.
16. Foodie Friday, Reverb Style: Food nourishes us. Some foods give us more enjoyment than others. Share your favorite food moment of 2011. Describe the food, where you got it, and/ or how you made it.
17. Wisdom (Written by Susannah Conway): What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?
18. Action (Written by Scott Belsky):When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?
19. Appreciate (Written by Victoria Klein): What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?
20. Lesson Learned (Written by Tara Weaver): What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward?
21. Healing (Written by Leoni Allan): What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2012?
22. Beyond Avoidance (Written by Jake Nickell): What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?)
23. Achieve (Written by Tara Sophia Mohr): What’s the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you’ll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do, or 10 new thoughts you can think, in order to experience that feeling today.
24. Photo (Written by Tracey Clark): Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.
25. Gift (Written by Holly Root): This month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. What’s the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?
26. Defining Moment (Written by Kathryn Fitzmaurice): Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.
27. Stories (Inspired by Molly O’Neill): What stories touched your heart this year? How will you find and cultivate the stories of 2012?
28. Insightful Peace (Inspired by Kate Inglis): Describe a moment in which you felt at peace, gained insight of your situation, and/ or realized everything would be okay.
29. New Friends (Inspired by Martha Mihalick): Tell us how a new friend changed your life or perspective this year.
30. Letting Go (Inspired by Alice Bradley): What do you need to let go of to move forward in 2012?
31. Resolution: Did you stick to your 2011 resolution(s)? What’s your resolution(s) for 2012?

Now, here’s my response to today’s prompt: How did your 2011 shape up? Did it meet your expectations? Did your words manifest during 2011?

I entered into 2011 with an almost fresh slate — literally. I didn’t blank out a website or anything abstract like that, but I did move from Florida to Georgia. I had a new hope for the future. Over the course of the year, I realized I had dreamed up a very difficult task. Today, I can tell you that 2011 did not meet my expectations. My words, which I had hoped would manifest themselves as reality, were mostly just me dreaming out loud. That’s not to say 2011 didn’t bring great lessons, but a year ago today I was expecting to make Electrate Editorials my bread-winner. Here’s to bringing those dreams to fruition in 2012!

And for a little added fun, here’s my response to Kaileen Elise‘s prompt: Where did 2011 begin?

This year began in Northwest Georgia, in a small town steeped in American Civil War history. It’s a diamond in the rough, and we just need some forward-thinking, progressive individuals to take the reigns and sculpt dilapidated buildings and abandoned properties into an economically successful locale. Keep Northwest Georgia beautiful, but help it thrive!