This year, I’m reminding myself to return to the basics.

Because in the journey of deepening into who I am (sharpening my devotion and commitment to what matters, becoming a more effective life coach, growing spiritually and emotionally, etc.), I’ve noticed a temptation to bypass the basics (the work at its most fundamental level) in search of the next practice, insight, method, framework, or idea that will (magically) take me to new heights and depths of connectedness, joy, and wisdom.

And while seeking out new opportunities is part of the journey, it’s usually not what I most need.

Usually, if I’m craving connection or seeking transformation, I find I need to deepen into the basics of what I already know (and know to do).

For me, it’s the trifecta of awareness (body, emotion, and mind):

1) Getting grounded and checking in with my body, experiencing and settling into my embodied energy, listening and responding to what my body has to say.

2) Letting myself feel and have embodied experiences of my emotions (without needing to make them mean anything).

3) Managing my mind and working with the thoughts I think and beliefs I carry that keep me small, suffering, and stunted. Basically, identifying those thoughts/beliefs and doing to the work of choosing better ones.

All of this is infuriating simple (which, just to be clear, is not the same as being easy).

No matter how much I grow, transform, or deepen into this experience of life, I still have to be with myself, feel what’s happening inside, and question what I think.

No matter how much progress I make, the starting point is still more or less the same: breathe, sit, feel, connect, question. (It's pretty much always unhelpful to skip these steps.)

All of this reminds me that there is infinite depth in what is already here and available – and infinite possibility in the simple, foundational, unsexy work I know is mine to do and know will take me where I most want to go next.