New Year, New Resolutions

BYLINE: Michelle Simons, MSW, LMSW-Clinical & Macro

With the dawn of a new year, our minds naturally go to thoughts of a fresh start, goal setting, and the infamous resolutions. Whether you’ve successfully set and attained resolutions in the past or found them falling by the wayside as the year progressed, you may be wondering how this age-old tradition might look different in our present day pandemic lives.

This past year challenged us in ways we never could have imagined, and the challenges continue in 2021. Many of us feel an underlying weariness with all we are navigating. So, let’s start by giving ourselves some grace. Reflect on those resolutions you set for yourself last January, and instead of focusing on the ones that were derailed, I invite you to celebrate all of what you DID accomplish, much of which likely wasn’t driven by a resolution.

You learned a lot in the past year. We all did. You are most certainly not the same person you were one year ago. You’ve experienced many things and have grown in response to them. While intentions and goals and resolutions can be helpful, the reality is life often doesn’t unfold according to our plans. What can you appreciate about what life delivered to you?

If you knew what you know now about what 2020 had in store for you, might those 2020 resolutions have looked different? Some of them may have been spot on, and others may have missed the mark. What resolutions, put in place last January, would have served you well or better as you made your way through the past year?

What can you learn from this reflection that might help you set resolutions and intentions for 2021 that are meaningful and supportive of your wellbeing? What would you like to experience more of this year, such as joy, peace, presence? Play with framing your resolutions in the form of question starting with “How can I…” and see where it takes you.

Cheers to a happy new year!