I truly believe in the power of a new day as a force and a motive for renewing, refreshing or completely changing our thoughts, our feelings and actions going ahead. The new year then, for me, offers the chance for extensive reflection on what has just gone and what is yet to come. I look back to understand the priorities I had and the actions I took, and which will aid me as I enter another year in life. I look back to understand what I didn't do or manage to achieve, and to decide whether those goals or values have a place in my life moving forward. This past year has been unpredictable and painful in many ways for us all. But if you are reading this now, you made it, you're alive, and you have so much life to come.
I am proud to say that I have come quite far personally in the past year. Since last year, I have become so much more gracious of my conscience and have learned a lot in cultivating my self-awareness, especially when faced with feelings of anger or anxiety. Instead of letting them consume me, I have learned to lean into them, to ask myself why I feel this way, to question how they are benefitting me and if it isn't, using the energy for more productive pursuits. Yes, sometimes I have to release my anger or shed some tears, but I am learning to use my initiative, to gage my emotions, to bring BALANCE and to use my energy for GOOD.
Another thing I am proud to have experienced is the power of self-belief, of taking small steps and my ability to self-motivate, significantly so in the face of constant uncertainty and countless rejection, and at times when I have lost sight of who I am or who I can be. Again, sometimes it is necessary (and healthy!) to embrace feelings of anxiety or sadness, but I never advocate staying there long. I acknowledge the feelings in their entirety, then I make the effort to do something that will pull me out of that mindset or at least take me one step closer to success – emotionally, physically, career-wise – however it may be at that time. I learned to value my energy and to use it to benefit myself and the people around me.
A new year for me is a chance to refresh my mindset and devise new method. I am determined, I am passionate, I am kind. These three things are a few of the qualities that I believe will see me to success. My methods? Well, productivity is my priority, and planning ahead is my best friend. But the most important thing I will be doing is harnessing the power to RELEASE what no longer serves me, to let go of the grief and anguish that threatens to plague me, and to remove what disbelief and debilitating thoughts or feelings deplete my energies instead of bolstering it. Rather than dwelling on what was, I will focus on what is and what can be. Rather than revisiting the past, I will engage with my present and create my future. A new year is an opportunity to release what has weighed you down before. We don't need to forget the experiences that have shaped us, but we do need to relinquish what has come and gone in order to bloom and to grow.
A new year is a new opportunity for change, for renewal, for focus, for you. It might not feel right for you to write a list of goals or resolutions, but have an idea of what you want to achieve or what actions you want to take, big or small, practical or emotional. Write a list of the books you want to read, a list of passions that you could turn into a hobby, a list of foods to try, beauty products to buy, workouts to tackle or a lesson you want to learn. Decide what room you will redecorate, what event you will host or attend, what friend you will reconnect with. Decide what commitments to change you can make, and how you will go about it. Decide what qualities you possess, and how you can exercise them in the year ahead. Decide to believe in yourself, to be grateful of what you have, and to treasure the moments that are so often taken for granted. Decide to be intentional, and to do it all with passion.
Your tomorrow begins today, make it what you will.
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