I’m not a big New Years Resolution kinda gal, but I do contemplate what I want the upcoming year to look each year. This year my friends introduced me to the idea of identifying a word of the year. My word is “intention” and I have to admit that it is a big one and can be pretty vague. I want to get more intentional about a lot of things- the food I fuel my body with, the way I spend money, the way I move my body, how I choose to spend my time. Historically, I have a “go big or go home” attitude. When I decide I want to do something, I want to jump all in and make big changes or take giant leaps. So, of course, I decided to wake up each morning early enough to do yoga and meditate. I bought a beautiful planner with the intention that each Sunday evening, I will sit and meal plan for the week, figure out what I am going to spend money on for the week, and write down my to do list. I jumped all in and do you want to know what happened? I did it for a few weeks, and found myself more productive but also more exhausted and overwhelmed. This served me in many ways, but there has been a cost.
So now what? I have to revisit my plan. Using my planner and meal planning has been great, but it’s okay to make simple meals rather than planning for new meals that will take prep time. Waking up at 5:30am to do yoga and meditate isn’t working for me right now, but doing yoga on days when I don’t have clients and mediating before I go to bed works well.
In the book “Desire Map”, Danielle LaPorte writes about setting goals based on how you want to feel rather than what you want to achieve. For me, I want to feel organized and content. Maybe being organized and content means that I simplify and get clear about what I’m doing and if it is creating chaos or simplicity in my life. Maybe it’s not about functioning perfectly, which is often the path that I go down.
If you, like me, have found yourself feeling overwhelmed by your New Years Resolution or as if you have failed, maybe instead think about how you want to feel, and then think about something (just one or two small things) that will move you towards that feeling.