What are you bringing into 2021 and what are you leaving behind?
I have an early January birthday and honestly have always hated it. Since I was a kid I was always frustrated with the timing of my birthday because I always got the “leftover Christmas presents” for birthday gifts. Yes, I realize how this sounds and that gifts are a gift and not supposed to be expected but as a child, it was frustrating. Not to mention my sister’s birthday is the day after mine.
Needless to say, as an adult I outgrew this “present frustration” and have found a new obstacle.
As the world feels a revive on January 1 I don’t feel my goals and aspirations start until after my birthday.
As soon as Christmas is over I start planning my birthday. Are we going out or staying in? Who are we inviting? Kids or no kids? Where are we going? What food are we serving? What am I wearing???
Which leaves me a week and a half into the new year trying to start new routines and weed out what has and hasn’t worked.
So here we are.. my birthday celebration is behind me and I am ready to take a good look at what worked and what didn’t in 2020. Although 2020 was a weird year, to say the least, I feel there is always something that we can take away, something that we can always learn from.
In 2020 it definitely turned my normal routine on its head. For example, I found I need to dig deep and find my discipline that had been hiding behind habits. It’s so easy to just push off my workout until later in the day and then not do it at all because (I don’t know about you), if I put it off outside of the morning it is less than likely to get done.
So I need to schedule my morning workouts with myself or my trainer like I am going to a class. Exercise my discipline muscle. CHECK.
The influx of “news” and information went overboard in 2020 with the virus and politics so we are definitely leaving that behind. Not to mention the lack of human interaction meant the increase in social media. Let’s collectively leave that behind this year as well. Let us learn to put social media away, back in its place as a seldom check rather than scrolling hours of the day. We really need to stay cognizant and use it purposefully rather than as a way to escape. Let’s clear out people and accounts that don’t bring us joy. Ones we just compare ourselves with rather than inspire us. Add in more inspiring content, more joyful content so when we are on social we are being lifted up rather than taken to a negative headspace. Go outside when we feel the stirring and need a brain break. Soak up the amazing and essential vitamin D by getting some sun on your face. Go outside to read a book. Let’s read more self-improvement books this year. I hate being stagnant. I want to always evolve and grow and I feel we as humans should strive for this.
Learn to let go of what is not serving us positively and read more. CHECK and CHECK.
One thing I will NOT be leaving behind is checking in with myself, my husband, and my kid’s mental space. How are you coping? How are you feeling? Let’s make a purposeful attempt to get out of our own heads. While all the information was swirling and routines changed I noticed all of us withdraw a bit and felt the need to check-in. Ask them (and myself) the questions and not settle for simple answers such as “I don’t know”. Really have hard conversations. Emotions are hard. Period. There is no way around that. But in order to get around them, we have to go through them. We have to feel them. If not we store it away in our body and cause tension that ends up somewhere else. I don’t want this for myself and most certainly don’t want this for the ones I love most.
Random check-ins with our emotions and where we are holding them. CHECK.
I resolve to have a more happy time. You know the time doing something that feeds your soul. Mine is time outside in my hammock with the sun on my face. I can be daydreaming, goal setting, working through a project, reading, or simply trying to clear my mind. My happy space is most definitely outside in the sun and in nature. I encourage you to find yours. If you already know what yours is I encourage you to spend more quality time there. I say this to us both. I know we are all busy but we can find at least 15 minutes a day for ourselves. As they say, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Even if you don’t have a family or spouse you are always pouring into someone. We easily put ourselves behind the needs of others and champion that thought but in reality, we need to change. We need to take the time to fill our own cups with something that feeds our soul even if it’s just a few minutes a day. But when you are able to have more time I suggest taking it. Once we are filled we can more easily and genuinely fill others and not feel empty ourselves. This is critical. This is essential and you and I need to prioritize this.
Daily soul-feeding time. CHECK.
Lastly, I suggest taking a good look at whom you spend your time with. How do you feel around them? Is it draining? Is there a lot of negative talk? Gossip? OR Do they feel like sunshine? Are they cheerleaders? Are they inspirational? Are you smiling walking away from the conversation? We need to spend more time with those people that feel like sunshine.
The quote I feel the most primal connection to is “keep me where the light is” and I try to arrange my life this way literally and figuratively.
I encourage you to find your “sunshine” this year. Camp out there. Make small but meaningful, impactful changes. Let’s evolve. Let’s learn from our past and blaze a way forward. Let us not be afraid to fail but learn from our mistakes. Let us hold our heads high because if we hadn’t have gone through what we had then we wouldn’t be the people we are today. Everything has a reason. Everything has a season. 2020 may not have been the year we hoped for but it wasn’t wasted. Let’s learn. Let’s grow.
Some books that I am adding to my reading list this year are:
The Body Keeps the Score By Bessel Van Der Kolk
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle By Amelia & Emily Nagoski
The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work By Christine Carter
Battlefield of the mind By Joyce Meyer
Daring Greatly By Brene’ Brown
LETS GROW THROUGH WHAT WE GO THROUGH!
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