New Year Expectations
I hope this year is treating you right already.
I started this year out doing what I wanted to, rather than what I should’ve been doing.
I finished my novel revisions, and THE FALSE FLAT is now in the hands of my trusted critique partners. I’ll get feedback on my story on January 10th (next Monday).
I was left deciding what to do while I waited. My plan was to prepare social media posts for a newsletter giveaway. I started stressing about the January 1 deadline I’d placed on myself. So, I asked myself what I wanted to do. I wanted to work on a short story that I’d pushed to the back burner last year, and I wanted to plot my next novel. I have a new novel idea, people! A sequel to THE FALSE FLAT. I’m excited about both.
So, I gave myself grace and wrote/plotted instead of creating social media stuff (I don’t enjoy social media.) I’m still planning the giveaway, but it’ll happen when I’m better prepared. I’ll keep you posted!
Me last night in the snow, doing what I wanted. We love snow in this house, so at 8pm, I was outside enjoying those magnificent flakes!
Last year wore me out.
2021 started with gusto and a determination to be as healthy as I could be: diet, exercise, the works. That got flipped on its head in February 2021 when my husband and I took custody of our 6 nieces and nephews, going from a family of 4 to a family of 10 within 2 hours. It was a shock and a steep adjustment. To be honest, I didn’t adjust to the change well. I ate junk, and I never stopped doing something.
Even when they left our house, it took me a very long time to recover from the physical, mental, and emotional stress/strain of taking on that many children with behavior issues. I spent most of 2021 living for other people and letting my preferences and health fall by the wayside. 2022 is going to be different.
Last year, one of my most popular blog posts was one entitled: The day AFTER New Year’s. I wrote it before CPS called and gave us 5 minutes to decide whether we were going to accept custody of 6 kids. I’m capturing the essence of that post today.
At the start of this year, did you find yourself saying, “This is the year I’m going to…(fill in the blank)”?
Everyone, anyone can START something, but finishing is where it’s at.
Kudos to you if you’ve already begun whatever it is you want to accomplish this year. But whether it’s a frame of mind, a new way to look at yourself or the people around you, weight loss, job goals, healthy living, healthy eating, exercise, or the many, many other possible things you want to change or improve on or obtain, I caution you not to get caught up in the excitement of starting something new. Excitement, when we live with it for a while, fades.
I think a lot of people set resolutions, but I don’t think a lot of us keep them.
You should be excited. Having goals is the first hurdle, but don’t let the excitement be the only thing that drives you. Remember there are many days to come, and some days will be harder than others. You will be faced with challenges and obstacles, temptations, and frustrations. Prepare for them now. Making a list is great; finishing a list is life-changing.
Understanding what it will take, how long it will take, and how it will work into your previous routine is like building a stable base or a foundation. A new life can’t be built on a point, a single peak of excitement. Done this way, it’s like you’re building an upside-down pyramid. Your goals/hopes/dreams are likely to collapse under the pressure of everything that falls on top of them.
But if you start step at a time, your goal/hope/dream becomes a lot more stable, lasting. When you create a platform for success, a stable base, and build from there, you’re a lot more likely to not only achieve your goal, but sustain it. And just like that pyramid, it’s a long, hard climb to the top, or can be, depending on what your goal actually is. So it’s important to prepare for the days you won’t feel like moving forward on your goal.
If your goal is to run every day, and you start running during a vacation or holiday at 10am, you’re going to have a hard time getting your run in when you start back to work and you’re tied up at 10am. Condition yourself to pick a time that is consistently available no matter what’s going on. It’s not fail-proof, but it’s much more likely to lead to success.
A few other tips/considerations:
1.) Forgive yourself when you fail because you probably will. Don’t wait until next January 1st to start over. Start over right where you are, that very day, and don’t look back.
2.) Don’t compare yourself to others.
3.) Go at your pace, but keep going.
4.) Don’t give up—never give up—when you face the challenges you didn’t quite prepare yourself for. Look for a way to either persevere or rearrange, but don’t let your goal go. (Note: there might be a point where you no longer want what you thought you did because you have more info about that particular thing. Case-by-case here. It isn’t failure if you change your mind, but try to see the difference. Ask yourself why you want to stop moving forward.)
5.) Believe in yourself – this is basic, but I’d feel silly not saying it because it’s another huge reason for failure. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. Some successes take time and are hard. Push through the hard.
6.) Start as small as you need to. One step forward is still a step forward.
Medical Moment:
Epigenetics is an emerging field of science that studies changes in genes, specifically the activation and deactivation of genes without any change in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism.
Food, environment, stress level, toxin exposure, etc., influences what genes in our body are “turned on” and “turned off.” Which means we have more control over disease when we think!
You might inherit an increased risk for a disease, but how you live/what you eat determines IF those genes will be expressed.
I love big dreams. I love big accomplishments even better.
Don’t let your New Year’s resolutions/goals be derailed. Build your foundation, research your goal, plan, anticipate challenges, realize it probably WILL BE HARD, but under it all, remember that…YOU CAN.
Much glitter,
Melissa
Loving this blog? Join my newsletter crew and get up-to-date material and bonuses in your inbox every week! Sign up below!
