New year, New you?
Ditch the damaging mindset that leaves you stranded time after time.
Last year was the most challenging of my life. While I understand you can’t neatly contain all your losses and hardships in one year, the turning of this new year felt more than ever like a new chapter in a book that had been writing itself. I know more important than any vow to lose 10 pounds, in this year especially, my next chapter needs to begin not mired in resolutions. My focus needs to be anchored in renewal and recovery. A mantra of rest, not rush.
Give yourself space and permission to decipher what you truly need. Take your emotional pulse. If the ball dropping on New Year’s Eve was a great motivator, then GO YOU! Celebrate your successes and wins at every opportunity. Yet, not every new year requires YOU to be new. In fact, you are already exactly who you need to be at this moment.
Whether you’re tiptoeing into the new year or launching like a rocket, there are a few grounding touch stones to keep you from the inevitable cycle of self-sabotage.
Go in search of your Why.
Tune out the gym commercials on tv and the wellness coaches on social media. Give yourself some time to see how you feel as this new year settles. Individually, discern what growth and change you truly seek from what you think you should do in light of our cultural influences. The answer lies in the “why”. Why do you want to set a particular goal? Are you doing it for yourself or because you should?
We fuel inspiration when we connect to our rooted purpose. Setting a goal with only face value makes for a hollow intention. Real illumination is needed. Envisioning the end result of a particular goal gives it meaning. Is the benefit of the goal motivating enough to keep you on track even when obstacles arise? When you get to the soul of the goal, what is your “why”
A new year, new number.
Our biological design is to move with the seasons in its diurnal and nocturnal rhythms, but we are circadian beings living in a chronological society. We’re organic beings in response or reaction to our surroundings. In winter our bodies want to slow down and rejuvenate, though our minds may want us to move in a million different directions. Be willing to slow down enough to get clear and centered in what you really want right now.
We measure our life in numbers; age, weight, size of our bank account, the square footage of our house, the number of steps we’ve taken, the new year. Tethering ourselves to a belief that we must check off certain boxes by the turn of each birthday or at the stroke of midnight on 12/31, can lead us down the shame spiral of a failure mindset. Let go of the idea we must be driven by a number. Our sense of worth and accomplishment needn’t be tied to a number value. Life flows and unfolds as we grow, not age.
Growth, not change.
Let’s all agree to stop using the phrase “new year, new you”. The message is dismantling. You are spectacular just as you are with all of your collected wisdom. Sure, take on some healthy habits. Get onboard with some new chances, new feels, new dreams. But there is no need to tell the old you, “hey- you weren’t cutting the mustard so take a hike.” Instead this season asks us to take care of the old you, the always you.
Our life is our “life’s work.” We are always in process. Evolution daily in our own unfurling. The new year can serve as a mile marker, but assigning a forced change may leave you feeling self-defeated. New Year's resolutions tend to go the way of the baby and the bath water. A few stumbles, we quit. You don’t need to change who you are. Instead recognize the growth from where you are. Keep showing up for yourself. Even failures are inherently successes, if we see them as an opportunity for growth.
In these January days, can you ease in and not push into goals? Instead can you be more open to what in you needs to be seen and heard? Restore the coffers of inspiration as you go into a deep visioning. Be in the comfort of winter’s yin energy. Linger as you soften into a divine feminine receptivity. Listen to spirit for what she yearns to create. Go dreamily into what is next to come.
As we nestle into a new year, it's good to take our time. It's good to find some moments to clarify and align our hearts and minds to what is best for us.
If this calls to you, I would love to have you become a paid subscriber. For just a few bucks a month you get journal prompts, printables, guided meditations, quarterly workshops, replays and more. Kindle your fire and live in full color. We attune to the rhythm of the season with meditation, journaling, goal setting, and self-inquiry.