You get what you put into it. It’s as simple as that.
This applies to your relationships, to your health, to your finances, to your spiritual life – to every single aspect of your life.
It’s a new year, which means we’ve entered a new season, and to some, the opportunity for new beginnings.
No matter where you are with new year’s resolutions – whether you make them or not, whether January 1 is just another day or not – my hope for you in the year ahead is that you don’t neglect the one person who is the most important: yourself.
You don’t have to go on a strict diet. You don’t have to work out two hours a day, seven days a week. You don’t have to learn a new language, go on a pilgrimage, or give up caffeine. Not unless you want to, of course.
You don’t have to make a resolution, but the clock turning to the new year is as good a time as any to reflect on the past year and to think about the year ahead. You could even get out a pen and paper or open up your Notes app on your phone and inventory what you’d like to change or how you’d like to improve or what you’d like to let go of. No harm in writing those things down.
And then sit with them a minute. Or a day or two. Really sit and reflect and ask yourself what you could do differently. Ask yourself what’s holding you back from change.
Visualize your life one year from now, doing the exact same thing, and ask yourself how you want to feel in that moment – do you want to look back over this year and realize you are exactly the same another year in a row? Or do you want to look back and realize that you spent a year doing some work in whatever area of your life, and that you’ve actually grown and changed as a result?
If you want to be different one year from now, well then, the work starts now. Using that pen and paper or Notes app, make a plan for what you want to do to see yourself succeed. Be specific. Be reasonable. Make it measurable. And above all else, make it attainable.
And then just start. It’s as simple as that.
You don’t have to announce it to the world. Just put your head down and quietly do the work.
You’ll make mistakes. It will be messy. You’ll experience setbacks. Things won’t always go according to plan. It will be hard. But you don’t have to give up. You can start over at any time.
Acknowledge the hard parts, but also acknowledge the wins along the way – because there will be wins, pinky promise.
You are worth the effort it takes to grow. And I promise you won’t regret investing in yourself.
So go on. What are you waiting for? It’s time to bring it to the New Year. You got this. And I’m rooting for you.
