A New Year's Invitation

Every year, I write a New Year’s blog, trying to put a new spin on using the impetus of a fresh start.  In 2019, it was about choosing a theme for the year (A Clean Slate).  In 2020, the focus was bringing more lovingkindness into the new year (Metta for a New Decade).  And last year was about surrendering and allowing the year to unfold (Holding the Empty Space).

I like this evolution.  For decades, I was very disciplined about my New Year’s resolutions – continuously striving to get better and achieve big goals.  These days, just typing that sentence sends me back to adrenaline spikes and never-ending fatigue.  Maybe it’s the season of life I find myself in or the perspective a few years of global upheaval can bring, but this year, a kinder, gentler approach seems appropriate.

Do you feel this way, too?

During a journaling session the week before Christmas, I stumbled upon the idea of listing intended experiences for 2022.  They weren’t bucket list experiences, like seeing the Northern Lights or learning to sail.  These experiences were more internal.  For example, one of them is to experience the feeling of vitality and optimal well-being throughout the year.

How is this different from a wellness resolution?  In 2018, I set a goal for myself to run an ultramarathon.  While my fitness level definitely improved that year and I did complete a 50K event, I also had to deal with minor injuries and fatigue from the relentless training.  I put my body through a tremendous amount of repetitive stress, but I learned so much about myself in the process.  It’s a time I look back on with pride, but feel no pull to repeat it at this time.

In comparison, trying to create a feeling of vitality and optimal well-being is less about how far I can push my body and more about waking up with boundless energy in a body that feels fit, a mind that is calm, and a spirit that is fed.

You may be thinking, “But that goes against all we know about achieving our objectives – this experience isn’t specific or measurable or time-based!”

Exactly.  Here’s what it is for me:  intriguing, enlivening, enthusing, inspiring and motivating.  And it leverages my current interests and habits.

Here's how it works:

• Think ahead to New Year’s Day 2023 and do a little brainstorming by completing this sentence:  I want to be the type of person who…  This is just to get the creative juices flowing, so there’s no right or wrong answer here.  Cast a wide net, opting for quantity over quality.  Include all areas of your life such as partnership, “framily,” livelihood, wellness, learning, community, spirituality, adventure, etc.

• From that brainstorming exercise, select a key experience that you’d like to have for each important area of your life.  They should be the kind of experiences that would make you reflect back on this year with a sense of elation and gratification.  For example, the delight of creativity, the satisfaction of a thriving business, or the joy of everyday beauty.

• Next, consider the qualities that someone would embody to have each key experience.  Using my example, a person who experiences the feeling of vitality and optimal well-being may tend to tune into what food fuels them, ways their body likes to move, how to encourage restorative sleep and how to connect with their inner wisdom.

• Lastly, what’s the best way to foster an environment where these experiences will occur routinely?  Using my vitality example, I’m starting the year off with a three day juicing routine so I can better calibrate my approach to food.  For movement, I’m committing to three days of CrossFit and two days of running a week, because these activities are most enjoyable for me and help me sleep soundly.  For my check-ins, I’ll begin my work-related writing sessions on Monday through Friday with 15 minutes of personal journaling to connect and keep myself on track.

The beauty of this approach is these activities are already in my calendar.  I didn’t have to add anything to my schedule.  In fact, I went from six workout days to five.  Why the decrease?  I think I’ll be able to increase the intensity at CrossFit by having an extra rest day.  And the 15 minutes of journaling was something I started in November during time that was already slated for business writing, so it’s not much of a stretch, but it’s the key to keeping me accountable.

To me, this approach feels less like something I need to do and more of a way I want to live.  It feels honoring to my mind, body and spirit.  

I’m envisioning a year of leveraging my good habits – CrossFit, trail running, hikes and long walks, clean eating, sleep, writing, balancing solitude and togetherness, strengthening relationships with myself and others, creativity, business, exploration, discovery and experimenting with new things.  All in all, it feels like a year of living more analog, of listening, of depth.

What would it be like for you to have a year of becoming the person who has the experiences you most long for?  What would you stop doing that’s counter to the experiences you want to have?  How might you leverage the good habits you already practice?

That’s my invitation – would you like to join me?

Journal Reflections:  How have you welcomed the New Year in the past?  What practices have worked and which have not?  How might you adjust your well-established routines to welcome 2022 in a new way?