Forget New Year's Resolutions, Here Are My "Repeat Solutions" for 2023
Rather than focusing on what I’m going to do “differently” in the New Year, here are 12 things I want to keep doing in 2023 (based on what I learned this past year).
I can’t help but begin to reflect on the last 12 months as I await the turning of a new year.
Rather than focusing on what I’m going to do “differently” in the New Year, here are 12 things I want to keep doing in 2023 (based on the main lesson I learned each month this past year).
I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions as I tend to be a fairly impulsive person… if I feel the desire to change something or start something new, I can hardly wait another moment.
If you’ve ever received a gift from me you may not be surprised by this fact... Especially if you received your gift in February despite your birthday being in August.
As I said, when I get excited about something, it pains me to wait.
This tendency to be impulsive has led me down some interesting paths and delivered some less than pleasant experiences.
This year, I began studying Human Design and learned that I have “emotional authority.” This means that I experience emotional waves which can result in impulsive actions...
Which leads me to the first lesson I’m going to continue practicing in the New Year.
JANUARY:
When in an emotional wave (whether good or bad), wait to make decisions or take action. Instead, take that time to reflect on the emotions and information that is arising and wait to act until you are in a neutral state.
This guidance has been remarkably profound for me. It’s helped to give me a vocabulary to explain what I have experienced my whole life and has also given me a constructive way to move through those emotional waves.
Now, enough with the explaining and onto rapid fire of the next 11 lessons I’m taking with me in 2023.
FEBRUARY:
When feelings of stress or tension arise, accept the feelings as part of your current experience. Use your energy to embrace the experience by saying “it’s okay for me to feel this way” as opposed to expending energy wishing your experience was different than it is (and thus causing more anxiety).
MARCH:
Take time to explore things you pass or see everyday. Whether it’s an antique store next to the stoplight across from your office or a part of town you pass frequently. Practice using new eyes to explore the surroundings you’ve grown desensitized to.
APRIL:
Regularly do a “body scan” and check in with yourself throughout the day. Close your eyes, breathe, and acknowledge any physical or emotional feedback that arises. This will stave off those moments when your anxiety runs away with you.
MAY:
Take more pictures of flowers blooming in the early spring. Make a point to look at the pictures and journal/reflect on these simple pleasures. Allow them to be an annual reminder of how some things must die to be reborn, how even the bleakest of seasons have a turning point, and perhaps just remark on how amazing the natural world is.
JUNE:
When you move away from a city or town, you can always return. However, you can’t return to the version of yourself that lived through that time. When the tears come, let them. You’re grieving the loss of a time in space that will soon be a memory.
JULY:
Catching up with friends doesn’t have to be planned around a full meal. A quick catch-up is still meaningful and purposeful. You can have a call, go for a walk, or just grab coffee to keep your connection in-tact.
AUGUST:
Take steps towards the ideas or dreams that stay on your mind for multiple days or months. Perhaps it’s your higher self trying to guide you towards what’s meant for you.
SEPTEMBER:
Make time for art. Draw, listen to music with your full presence, dance, go to galleries, indulge your senses at least 1x a week in a creative practice or witnessing someone else's creative product. Your senses will thank you.
OCTOBER:
Completing 5 squats while brushing your teeth is better than no squats and feeling bad that you didn’t make time for yourself that day. Mini moments of movement are just as much for your mind as they are for your body.
NOVEMBER:
Travel with friends. Some of your best memories and moments of bonding will come from experiencing something (or somewhere) for the first time together.
DECEMBER:
Your rest is required. It is not earned and it is not “deserved” as an exchange for something else. Rest is necessary. Rest is sacred.