As one decade draws to a close and the clocks roll into the next, I feel like I am swimming in a sea of open self-loathing. This year, I am not interested in making a grand resolution for change. Instead, I am ushering in a year where the goal is simply to be at peace. Instead of a resolution for 2020, I’m accepting exactly who and where I am. like it or lump it. A series.
How did this become normal?
It’s January 1. You know what that means. We feel like we can’t be at peace with ourselves right now. Everywhere we turn we can find two types of posts/conversations/strangely invasive questions from strangers: one type declaring New Years Resolutions, the other openly laughing at your future failure.
Why are we ok with this? Where is the third option: simply sitting in gratitude for another day and another chance to be us?
New Years Resolution: I’m Good.
It struck me today that the entire concept of a New Years Resolution is a little…well…silly. Bear with me.
We love a chance to start over, right? We love to wipe the slate clean and pick up on something new on a Monday, the first of the month, the first of the year, a new job, a new home, a fresh sheet of paper, a blank canvas. So it makes complete sense that as we shift from the 2010s into the 2020s and give ourselves not only a new year but a brand new decade, our announced intentions for our better, newer lives have to be BIGGER. It only makes sense.
Here is where I am all mixed up: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU.
You don’t need to announce to the world that you are too fat/too thin/too lazy/too uncultured/ too any-freaking-thing or that you are a broken mess in need of fixing. Go on and do it if you feel led, but I’m not buying it. I believe you are exactly who you are today, right now, for a reason.
More importantly, if you are feeling a tug to try something new, why wait? Or, why start now if you aren’t ready? Could today be the perfect time to start? Sure. Maybe. That’s about all the power I’m prepared to give this date change. Sorry, not sorry entire industries trying to sell me a new life. For now, I’m good.
Could today be the perfect time to start? Sure. Maybe. That’s all the power I’m prepared to give the date change. Sorry, not sorry industries trying to sell me a new life.
New plan: be at peace
For this year, I’m just going to keep working on finding ways to be at peace with whatever the world has given me right now.
Is everything perfect? Nope.
Am I holding space for a lifetime of self impeachment and also a respect for my strength. Yup.
Can we do this even when everywhere we look, someone wants to sell us a five-point plan for how to be better? You bet.
For the next few days, I am going to share with you my story and a bit about where I am landing right now in a few key areas. You know, the ones from where most resolutions stem: peace with food, peace with your body, and peace with yourself.
Maybe you find yourself on the same journey. Well, hop in my car, sister! There is always room for one more on the road to who-the-heck-even-knows-where, and I’m breaking all the speed limits.
If this sounds like the type of adventure you are seeking, come join me for new episodes of the Finding Finish Lines Podcast on Wednesdays. There, I chat with and learn from incredibly brave women living powerful lives. Maybe you will find a nugget of inspiration or a moment of peace.
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