Happy New Year! Recently, someone asked me a question that gave me pause: if we had a time machine, what year would you like to go back to? After giving it some thought, I finally decided to relive 2023. There was a momentum of good propelling me forward in this past year, and I believe that even things that I didn't deem "good" at the moment were there to make way for even better things. I'm grateful for how 2023 set me on such a beautiful path for 2024.
At this time, we all reflect on our lives and the year ahead, and I have decided to take a new tact for 2024, thanks to my colleague and fellow Essentrics instructor, Susan E Mead. She wrote in her email blog yesterday about getting rid of New Year's Resolutions and focusing on making small changes, and this concept really resonated with me.
The holiday season we have just come through, for me, is filled with expectations and pressures (probably all self-imposed). Then, to hit myself with another wave of expectation to make some dramatic and "lasting" change in my life as a New Year's resolution is sometimes unrealistic and only sets me up for failure.
So this year, I've decided to make a "New Year's Solution" to stay more in the moment and use the knowledge that I've gained, especially in the past few years, to make small, healthy, and informed choices as I progress through this year.
Please note that I am not saying that significant and dramatic changes are something to avoid, as I recently have made some that have changed my life for the better and indeed propelled me into 2023 and set me up for the glorious 2024 ahead of me. Suppose you do decide to make a dramatic change, make sure you have a support system in place. By that, I mean your group of friends, family, teachers, and even counselors or therapists (I am so thankful for my therapist), but most of all, find a grounding within yourself to ask, lovingly, what is my next big step, and how big should it be.
So, would you want to relive a year of your life? If so, why?