I love the idea of the New Year. Getting a clean slate, setting new goals, starting over. But for some of us, the New Year represents disappointment. Disappointment with goals unfulfilled, dreams never started, everything we hoped to accomplish during the year and didn’t. And this year was like no other. For many of us, just surviving was at the top of the list.
As for me, I dropped setting New Year’s Resolutions years ago. Statistics show that 2 out of 10 people who set resolutions never make it out of January. And like most other people, I was not different. The resolutions remained unfulfilled. I’d be all in for the first couple of weeks, but by February, they were gone.
If this sounds like you, perhaps you’d like to join me by trying something different. Simply ask yourself the following three questions:
What Do You Want To Celebrate From Last Year?
The year 2020 was challenging no doubt. We’ve had to prioritize safety, social distancing, mask wearing, and new ways of working to name a few. But amongst all the uncertainty there were some silver linings. Maybe you were working from home and discovered it was pretty awesome. Perhaps you got to spend more time with your family. I hope you got to spend more time riding your horse! Taking time to celebrate even the smallest of wins helps us focus on a positive future.
Here are a few of my wins this year:
- My horse stayed healthy. I did not call the vet once.
- I saved money by staying home.
- I was able to focus more on some new and different skills with my horse. I rode bareback all summer long. Something I haven’t done in 15 years!
- Although I went to the office everyday, most everyone else stayed home which made the office environment a lot more calm.
- Before the pandemic hit, I became certified as a coach in equine assisted learning.
What Mistakes or Regrets Do You Want to Celebrate from the Past Year?
The idea here is to reflect on what didn’t go quite as planned and what you learned from it. It seems counterintuitive to celebrate mistakes or regrets, but this is where we learn our greatest lessons. This is where we grow and have the biggest transformations. What fears do you have that are keeping you stuck or holding you back from what you really want?
I actually struggled with this question as I feel like I don’t have a lot of regrets this year., which makes me think that perhaps I didn’t dream big enough or try enough new things.
What Do You Want to Celebrate in the Coming Year?
The third question and the one most commonly asked at this time of the year is “What do you want to celebrate in the future?” You may have taken my mini course on goal setting and this is a great exercise to loosen those ideas about your wants and dreams. Many of us, especially when we have been taking care of others for years, forget about our own dreams and desires. This little course gets those thoughts and dreams going again. You can get it by clicking the link below.
This task, however, is not to make a list of goals, but to write a letter from yourself to yourself on December 31 a year from now. Write the letter as if everything that you set out to do this year, has already been accomplished. For me, my letter may include the following:
“This year I continued my practice of getting up at 4:30 am, but added a 15 minute yoga routine that actually improved my fitness. I was able to maintain my weight goals by cutting out sugar and eating better food. These practices allowed me to gain strength and muscle tone. I noticed that I had more energy and stamina to ride and work with my horse.
I returned to competitive riding and Lulu and I participated in 4 ranch horse shows. I’m excited that she is improving in becoming my “ideal riding horse”. You can learn more about selecting an ideal riding horse by clicking here.
In addition, I retired from my job in July and am exploring moving to locations closer to family.”
You get the idea! I am working on completing my letter and incorporating more personal and professional intentions. I will review this letter often to remind myself of what I intend to accomplish this year.
As a side note, I’ve actually used this technique this year in terms of my weight loss. I simply asked myself “Would future fit and firm Pam eat this donut?” The answer was almost always “no”.
Choose a Word of the Year
Choosing a word of the year is one way to keep you on track to reaching that future self you want to create. It’s a kind of guide that will help keep you on track. This can be a verb like engage, forgive, complete, stretch or grow. Or it can be an adjective like elegant, fit, brave, happy or calm. It’s up to you and what you want to create! The temptation here is to choose a lot of words because you want to be all these wonderful things. But choose just one. Choose the one that will create the biggest transformations in your life.
I’ve chosen the word “decisive”. I want to make quicker decisions and not second guess myself. I feel like I will have a lot of life changing decisions to make this year. I don’t want to over analyze and get stuck in analysis paralysis. I want to feel good about the decisions I make as I move to the next chapter of my life.
Final Thoughts
I hope that you found the practice of asking yourself these three questions helpful. I’d love for you to join into the conversation and tell us some of your answers to these 3 questions. What are some of your biggest insights when reflecting on the past year? What do you hope to celebrate in the next year? What did you pick as your Word of the Year?
When it comes to our riding, all these questions or “celebrations” are applicable, but they really apply to all areas of our life. This is a great exercise that I hope you will participate in. Grab a piece of paper or a journal, and let’s get started!
Enjoy the Ride!