Goals for the New Year
Is it me or has both 2020 and 2021 not only flown by, but has also seemed like a blur? Lately I have been thinking about this more than usual. They say time goes faster and faster the older you get, but this feels like so much more than that. With the pandemic and the restrictions put in place, I know we have all have not only been in a sort of funk, but we also feel as though something has been missing from our lives. The good news is it actually doesn’t have to be that way.
People are pretty split on where they stand on the idea of “New Year’s Resolutions.” I’ve heard a lot of critics say they don’t believe in setting them because no one sticks to the plan or they hold the idea that you don’t have to wait until the New Year to start something. I may agree with the latter idea that it is never to early (or late) to make a change, but there is something so fresh feeling about starting at the New Year. While it is not necessarily a clean slate, it’s a fresh definitive starting point! This year I have set a few goals or resolutions:
1. Be present in the present: I have noticed lately how much our phones dictate our lives. In 2022, I am striving to put the phone down, let the call go to voicemail, leave the text unanswered and just be more present in the moment. So often I have realized that when anything slightly amusing happens (which for me does NOT take much as I have an incredibly low standard for being amused) the first thing I do is reach for my phone, whip out my camera and try to capture the moment. Doing so usually makes me miss the moment I originally intended to catch. So, this year, when my son decides to sing a song and dance around, instead of recording him, I’ll join him! When my dogs are being extraordinarily cute cuddling each other on the couch, I will sit and enjoy the moment of peace.
2. STOP spending money on food: OK, not all food because that would just be a crime. What I’m talking about here is getting fast food, grabbing takeout, etc. I have recently noticed how much I really spend on days where there just are not enough hours. I am a working mom of a WILD 3-year-old little boy and three dogs who require more attention sometimes than my son does (but they listen more, so it’s a fair trade off). I so often cave on grabbing something quick on the way home so I can accomplish more when I get there. However, this year my plan is to incorporate my son more in preparing dinner. This gives us the opportunity to not only bond and create memories but it also gives him the opportunity to learn. After all, I am raising someone’s future husband!
3. To continue to give more than I receive: When I say this, I don’t necessarily mean money or material items, but, rather, effort, love, attention and grace. As I have mentioned above, this has been a particularly hard year(s) for not just myself but also for so many people I know. This year for me specifically was a year where true colors really shined through. While it is so hard to remain good and positive in a time when things seem grim, it is so important to remember that everyone is going through something and that everyone falls -- ourselves included. Instead of acting rash and out of passion, this year I am going to try to continue to be better at giving grace the same way I hope to receive it. I want to continue to strive for kindness, charity, empathy and compassion not only for other people but also with how I treat myself. I want to smile and laugh more and worry less. I want to let go of the grudges that only turn me away from my goal.
I guess you can say I have put some thought into my resolutions and have really reflected on this past year, but I won’t stop there. I am choosing to start working on those goals right now because, like I said, it’s never too early to work on positive change. In a time of darkness, we need light. Be the light.
;)
