Changing tune today for today’s post, I want to look at how we even begin thinking about planning for the new year after a year like 2020. Everything we have ever known about planning went out the window this year, and one thing was left clear: No matter how much you plan, life will get its way.
So, how to go about thinking about what we want to accomplish in the new year? I will be the first to admit that I felt utterly lost this year, unsure how to measure my productivity and successes when I was struggling to even motivate myself to get out of pyjamas this year. It was not until I changed my definition of ‘success’ that I started finding my way.
While 2020 undoubtedly derailed almost everyone’s plans, there is a lot to learn from the year. And for me that started with turning the notion of progress inwards.
Now hear me out, I know it is exhausting to listen to go on about self-care and how productive they were during a global pandemic. Honestly, I am of the opinion that making it to December is a huge success in itself. However, I do agree that in a time when so much seems out of our hands, taking control of how we feel about ourselves is truly a powerful form of productivity.
And I am not just talking about physical appearances, but mental. Do you feel more curious? More compassionate? Less anxious? Though it was inadvertent at first, coming out the other side of 2020, I am most thrilled about my mental growth, so much so that the only plans or resolutions I intend to make into the new year are mental ones.
I want to learn to listen better, argue less, think more rather than speaking more.
It might seem abstract, but at a time when I am at a loss of how the coming months are going to look, abstract might just be exactly what I need. Though I’ll be honest, that is not going to stop me from setting up bullet journal spreads.
You know that saying about not being able to tame the oceans? So, stop trying. Let yourselves become waves instead (I know, I know, I’m cringing as I write that out—but it is true!). There’s only so much you can control, so might as well pick you battles.
Instead of planning to travel to five new cities in 2021, plan to be more adventurous, whether that means turning your living room into a blanket fort and pretending you are in underground catacombs, or agreeing to watch a show you normally would never pick for yourself.
Instead of resolving to work out five time a week all year, resolve to be more committed, whether that is to improving your physical health and diet, or calling your nan every week like you always say you will (Sorry Nan! I will call you this weekend!).
The bottom line is, this has been one heavy year and if you are anything like me, it has left you feeling as if you have fallen behind in life. It is time to remind ourselves that there is no timeline to life. So, let’s start making goals to do more internally than externally and find an inner sense of accomplishment that might be just as, if not more, validating that how many books we can read in a year or how many abs we have—though I would love it if those top abs would finally poke through this year!
