Last week I posted about tips for intentionally closing out 2023, and promised to follow up with guidance on intentionally moving forward into 2024. Exploring your vision and goals for the upcoming year is a powerful way to kick off the New Year.

Today I’ll be focusing on your broader vision for 2024, and I’ll be doing it with a little Jewish wisdom  Read on for instructions!

Tonight is the sixth night of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. And while Hanukkah, especially in America, is marked by parties, good food, and presents, there is also a deep spiritual meaning to the holiday. 

Hanukkah occurs during the darkest time of the year, and this year, it feels particularly dark for me. But every night, I light the candles on my menorah with my family and am reminded that even in darkness, there is so much light to be spread, so much joy to be had. Miracles are possible.

Some of the deeper themes of Hanukkah are about dreams and trust. During this dark time of the year, we are encouraged to snuggle up and dream. We are called upon to trust and surrender our dreams into the hands of the Universe (or whatever higher power you believe in.)

And so, I’d like to offer you a fun and meaningful way to explore your vision for 2024:

Step 1: Spend some time reflecting and/or writing on the following prompts

• What light do you want to see in the world this coming year?

• What light do you wish for others? You can focus on specific people or groups here.

• What light do you wish for yourself?

Step 2: Create a dream or vision board based on your reflections.

This can be done by hand or digitally, and may include images, phrases or words. It can be particularly fun to do this digitally and see what images come up when you search for specific keywords or phrases.

Optional but awesome Step 3:

Do this exercise together with a partner or friends and create a joint vision board. I did this with a group of my friends last night and it was incredibly powerful. Here are some of my personal light-based visions for 2024:

I hope you enjoy this exercise- feel free to share your light with me here or with other like-minded women by posting in my private Facebook group. Stay tuned for more New Year’s goal-setting tips!

Sending light, love and wishing a Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate.
Alona