The Undoing of the New Year’s Resolution
I would suspect that 2020 was a banner year for the broken New Year’s Resolution. My resolutions did not stand a chance. My list involved frequenting the gym more often for my beloved yoga classes, getting back to Europe and visiting two new national parks with my family. Isn’t that funny? None of us suspected the impact that a global pandemic would have on our lives, but also the duration of the resulting life changes. What a year that was! This brings me to 2021.
I am not always bound to my resolutions, but like the idea of starting my year with intention. I can look back and laugh a little at the absurdity of my hopes for 2020, but now I find that its not all that easy to plan for what I hope to get from 2021. Many things are still uncertain. The pandemic has weighed heavily on so many. Jobs are different and many are under or unemployed. School and home life is turned upside down. Daily life has been drastically altered in so many ways! Although there are certainly beautiful moments in everyday life our days call for a need to adapt and accept the unexpected. This in and of itself can be stressful. With all the uncertainty, goal setting can be hard. I do, however, think that there is one thing, one variable, we can all turn our attention to: ourselves.
Perhaps 2021 could be a year where we all learn about and explore self-care? What is self-care? Well, it is a commonly used buzz word for caring for one’s self. The wonderful thing is that self-care means different things to each of us. For some, it is meditation, others it is a bit of time to binge a favorite show, get outdoors, work on the project car or treat yourself to a massage. I see therapy as a great way to care for our-selves! Consider anything that fills up your cup. Anything that leaves you feeling better when done than when you started. Self-care does not have to cost a thing or require that you go anywhere. It can be as simple as putting away your phone an hour before going to bed, stretching well when you wake up or setting up phone dates with friends you have not seen in months. Maybe 2021 is the year we could all look inward. Perhaps we could spend energy doing things to care for ourselves in an undoubtedly stressful and unpredictable time. After all, with so many unknowns, a little self-care might be one thing we know we can control.
As for me, I had to reschedule that trip back to Europe for 2022. I will be enjoying the processes of planning for that. I will also be taking time to read more. I have also recently really found some mindfulness and grounding techniques that I practice when I wake up and before I go to bed. Lastly, I try to spend one on one time with my daughter each night before her bedtime. Those quiet moments recharge me. These goals are admittedly less exciting than international travel, but I see this as an investment. I am developing habits to care for myself, making memories with my little one and slowing down a bit. These will serve me well when life gets back to normal. In the meantime, I will be doing a bit to tackle the stress of everyday life. It is simple, but I think it is a pretty good plan.
What can you do for yourself this year?
Sarah Hendrix, Graduate Intern