Your Year in Review.
Whilst a lot of us tend to roll our eyes at the whole "New Year, New Me' bombardment we are often met with at this time of year, I do think it can be a good time to set some achievable goals. Don't get me wrong, I have many times in the past succumbed into the ever disappointing trap of setting unrealistic, and on the occasion useless New Years Resolutions that I have failed to maintain or even remember by the time the next one rolls around.
Having your sights set on something, creating purpose, can be a great way to get yourself moving in the right direction, but we must remember to allow ourself room to manoeuvre and breathe. We can change course, our goal posts can move, this is life. 'There are no rules to this thing' as F Scott Fitzgerald so wisely reminded us.
So! Allow me to invite you to try out a little new year ritual I like to do. Begin by writing a list, it can be as short or as long as you like, but focus on all of the things you achieved this year. The stuff that really made you feel good, the little things that make you feel warm inside, and the huge great big things that absolutely and completely set your soul ablaze. The stuff that you're proud of. Something that, this time last year would have scared you, but you did it anyway. Focus on the good. List them all. Look at it.
Then, start to add to it. With each thing on that list, add how you can build on that. How can you do it bigger and better?
A few things on my list are that this year I surfed on a hard board for the first time. A skill to continue to build and improve.
For the first time in a while this year I read cover to cover more books. Next year, I'm going to read more books, and promise myself not to finish the ones that don't resonate with me. As small as this may seem, always something I struggle with.
Last year I visited four new places. Two in the UK, two abroad. This year I'll visit five.
I held three Yoga Live events at the Sage Gateshead. Two of which have sold out. Next Year I'll sell out three.
So, on it goes, got a PB in the gym? Beat it. Learnt a new skill? Master it. Made new friends? Build those relationships, dive deep, make truer connections new and old.
Leave behind 2019 with gratitude, and embrace tomorrow with drive, ambition and knowledge that no matter how big or small these goal posts are, you can reach them, change them, broaden them, fit them or outgrow them in any way you wish to see fit. It's just a tool. A way to look at that list and fuel your own self belief.
And for anything on that list you don't quite nail in 2020, I'm sure if you write a new list next December, you'll find at least five more things you hadn't even considered would happen.
“For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” From The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F Scott Fitzgerald.
Happy New Year, everyone. Whatever year you've had, tomorrow is a whole new decade. Thanks for reading. xo.