Release and Reset again
Hello my friendlies. Is it just me, or do you also feel rejuvenated at the beginning of a new year? There is something so hopeful about a new start. Even though I am typically tired and emotionally hungover after the holiday season, in January I am typically deciding on my outcomes for the new year.
Over the years I have developed a habit of closing down the current year before setting my intentions for the new year. Sometimes I do it all at once, sometimes I do it in small pieces over several days, but I sit in reflection sometime in December and review the year. I always start by reviewing the “good” things - the achievements, the completions, the victories, the wins, the joy, the fun. I review my calendar, my social media pages, my journals, any place where I may have recorded what I was doing, and I look for those things that should be celebrated but are often overlooked. In 2022, for example, I celebrated many social gatherings with friends - meals, drag shows, stage plays, theater productions, tap rooms, game nights, camping, trivia nights - after two years of not really spending time with them. I celebrated what good care I took of myself - massages and other salon services, solo excursions to nurture my mental health, self-development retreats, therapy, and continuing education classes to further my growth - after years of people pleasing for others. I celebrated the second year of my Monday morning virtual coffee meetings. When I go back and look, I am usually pleased with how much I actually did during the year. If you haven’t yet, take a look back at 2022. What is there to celebrate?
The next step is to review all the things I did NOT finish, complete, achieve, etc. and decide which of them are no longer important. Maybe my goals changed, or I did something different than what I thought I would do, or I forgot about it. I write those things down on little pieces of paper and I literally burn them. In 2022 I let go of a project I’ve been picking at for more than a year, deciding I do not want to do it right now. I let go of a friendship. I let go of some habits and negative mindset spirals that are self-sabotage. What can you let go of from 2022?
And finally the reset. I decide what I want to accomplish in 2023. I break the big outcomes into smaller pieces, with interim deadlines to keep me on track. I write them down all over the place - in my planner, on post it notes, on a white board, everywhere I might see them. I figure out what resources I have at my disposal and which I need to acquire. I make a plan. I start the new year with new clarity and new focus. I pick a word or phrase or theme song, sometimes both. This year my phrase is #beinggentle. I am going to be gentle this year. With myself. With others. With my body. What is your word or phrase?
