Revisiting Your New Year’s Resolutions
Well, my friends, it’s April 5th. We’ve made it a quarter of the way through 2016—and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a little tired.
Good tired. Accomplished tired. But tired, nonetheless.
The last 96 days have been a flurry of activity—collaborations, conferences, workshops, planning, cooking, painting, travel, and more. And more than anything, I’m looking forward to a little down time; to rest and recharge, of course, but also to reflect on how I’ve been spending my time in this first quarter of the year.
Back in January, I talked a bit about New Year’s resolutions. Y’all remember how I feel about New Year’s resolutions , right?
I’m all about them, but only when approached with a fresh perspective: instead of considering everywhere we feel we’re failing and making resolutions to help us be better, let’s flip the script.
Who do you want to be?
How do you want to feel?
Aspire to the resolutions that will get you there.
That’s what I did. Late last year, I made my own resolutions based on my personal and professional aspirations for 2016. And, like most, I’ve had days where I’ve met my own expectations and days where I’ve fallen short. What’s more important to me, though, is that I haven’t forgotten about my resolutions; I haven’t forgotten these promises that I made to myself, because they were based on the Whitney—the wife, mama, entrepreneur, and follower of God—that I aspire to be in 2016. I actually want to work toward that—and design a life that gets me there—every single day.
But right now, 90+ days in, I’m pausing. To rest and recharge, yes—but also to reflect on the resolutions I made for myself just three short months ago.
Are they working? Are the goals I set actually helping me to be the person I want to be? To feel the way I want to feel?
Do they need tweaking? What new habits have stuck? What old habits have been harder to break??
What’s next? What can I add, if anything, to best support me and my personal and professional development in these next three months of 2016?
These might seem unnecessary questions to ask, but I would argue that they’re invaluable. There’s a few reasons why most New Year’s resolutions don’t stick: 1) They’re usually made without intention, and 2) They’re never revisited and revised throughout the year.
If you made the time to check in with yourself, and with the intentional goals that you set for yourself at the beginning of 2016, what might you find? What could you change? How could you support yourself better in becoming the person you want to be and feeling the way you want to feel?
I encourage you to ask the same questions of yourself that I’m asking now. Revisit your New Year’s resolutions, reflect on how far you’ve come, and consider where you want to go from here.
Like I said back in January, the goal is not to be perfect. It’s OK if you haven’t met every goal; selfishly, I hope I’m not the only one who’s had as many “bad” days as she’s had good. 🙂 This reflection exercise is not about admonishing yourself for the resolutions you haven’t kept, anyway. It’s about checking in with and supporting yourself, in every way, every step of the way.
It’s April 5th, friends. I hope you’ll join me, and take a minute to rest, recharge, and reflect on your resolutions and these past three months. Then, celebrate just how far you’ve come.
:: :: ::
Which New Year’s resolution are you revisiting this month? Let me know in the comments—and please share any personal reflections, too!
