A new approach to the new year

This is not my typical New Year’s resolution blog post. Usually, I have a long and varied list of things I want to accomplish over the next 12 months. Instead, this year, I am taking a different approach and experimenting with picking a word for the year that will be my touchtone. This word will serve as the theme for the year, and with it, I hope will shape my thoughts and attitude as I navigate the days ahead.

The word for this year will be: progress.

Instead of a checklist of accomplishments that I want to achieve before December 31st arrives, I am going to focus on making consistent but imperfect progress towards being the kind of person I want to be. Instead of just being someone that gets things D.O.N.E, I want to be happy, healthy, balanced and useful. So, I will work on making progress towards that ideal, a little bit each day.

Of course, there will still be things I want to accomplish this year, like running a 10K, completing the January Whole 30 and traveling abroad (when safe to do so), but I am approaching them with a different attitude. They are not going to go in the rear view mirror when I check them off, but instead serve as building blocks towards my health and happiness.

For example, I sat down last week and plotted out a schedule for training for the 10k that laid out my days for running and cross-training, but truth be told, binging Bridgerton won out over two of the training days this week. If this were like previous years, I would have wanted to quit and throw the training program out the window – I mean, who misses 2 days out of the first week?? Instead, I reframed it in the name of this year’s theme and realized that I made progress towards my goal, even if it was imperfect.

I am reading a book by Kendra Adachi called “The Lazy Genius: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done.” I am only to page 54, and I can already tell that I am going to make a TON of progress this year on finding the balance I am seeking by applying her Magic Question: What can I do now to make my life easier later? Some examples I have already used since reading it yesterday:

• Today, I cooked extra servings of two different meals so that I can eat leftovers when I don’t feel like cooking. That will make it more likely for me to stick to my Whole 30.

• While I was waiting for Diana to do her nighttime routine, I washed my workout clothes, so I have one less obstacle towards working out each day.

• I stopped to get gas on the way home from my hike yesterday when I had a few extra minutes, so I am not behind the 8-ball later with an empty tank.

• I pulled my passport out of the safe so that when I decide to put the deposit down on the trip in October to Ireland, I have all the information I need to do it.

Small things that all add up to progress in the right direction. Instead of setting myself up to be frustrated and disappointed in myself for not achieving perfection, I am setting myself up for success with small steps that make the bigger things easier to achieve later.

This will definitely be a mindset shift for me. I am an all or nothing kind of person. I love goals (hello, Enneagram 3!). Sometimes, my sense of self-worth is tied up in what I can do – the more I can do, the better I am. But, honestly, that’s exhausting – and it doesn’t really stick. It leaves me chasing the next goal or accomplishment to keep feeding the beast. Shifting to a theme of progress lets me celebrate effort, intent and incremental steps in the right direction. With that shift, 2021 is already shaping up to be a pretty great year.