Did Jan 1 come and go before you even had a moment to consider what you wanted for yourself this year? 2020 proved we can do hard shit. It was taxing on us in ways we couldn’t have predicted. The level of uncertainty during the last 12 months has surpassed what most people face in a lifetime. Regardless of all that, we made it. Even if you feel like you handled it like crap, wasted time, or whatever else about 2020 you are still clinging to, 2020 is behind us. Now well into the first month of the new year, many of us realize we haven’t thought a damn thing about what we want to do with our lives this year.
Did you know?
You can start “new year, new you” any time? There is nothing saying that your personal new year has to start January one. Personally, for me, I think it’s foolish. By the time I get through the holidays and the darkest part of the year I want a nice big glass of lemon water, no people, and a good book. Time to turn that stimulation DOWN!
You can have a fresh approach ANY TIME. While there is a little extra boost for some people at certain times, those times vary for individuals. You don’t have to wait for next Monday, next month or the next year. You can start this next minute.
Reflecting on 2020 might give you some insight into your desires and goals for 2021. There we a lot of ups and downs. What do you remember most? How did you feel about it? What does your calendar say you did or didn’t do?
Take an hour and sit down with a pen and paper and flip through the last year of your life. Look at each month, what event (memorable or not) happened. It doesn’t have to coincide with what the world was doing.
Last year I retired from dental hygiene after 10 long years. I didn’t have time to process how I felt about it. 2020 was full force in my face, giving me no space to say thank you to the lessons hygiene had taught me. Processing “retirement” gave me the opportunity to reflect on how happy, albeit rough this journey of entrepreneurship makes me.
Try it out, see what gems you dig up.
Prompts
What did 2020 teach you?
What do last year’s lessons drive you to change this year?
Who do you want to become, solidify or change?
What do you want to do for you, yourself?
What do you want to do for your community?
Where can you improve?
Release it! You can look at the bad and not so good, learn from it and let that shit go. There is no good reason to hold on to mistakes or missteps from the last year. Instead, focus on what they taught you, challenged you, or how they improved you. There have been so many lives lost over the last year. While holding the memory dear, consider how that life would want you to lead yours.
You don’t have to wait until someone else tells you it's time to start living your best life, you can do it all on your own. Now that you finally have it, take a moment to quietly reflect on what has passed and what you want out of 2021. Here is to happiness and personal responsibility in 2021!
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