ℂ𝕒𝕟 𝕨𝕖 𝕓𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℕ𝕖𝕨 𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕣’𝕤 ℝ𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪?
How many years have I set New Year’s Resolutions only to start berating myself a few weeks later for my lack of follow-through?
Sadly, too many years to count.
So a couple of years ago, I decided there had to be a better way. I started channeling “my inner-Dr. Phil” and asking myself, “𝙃𝙤𝙬’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙖?”
Well, year after year, New Year’s Resolutions have not worked for me—zero, nada, end of story.
Apparently, I’m not alone.
According to one study, only 9% of those who set New Year’s Resolutions successfully keep them for a full year.
With those odds, it’s crazy that millions of us keep making them—let alone consider the fact that the majority quit within the first month.
𝗦𝗼. 𝗪𝗵𝘆. 𝗗𝗼. 𝗪𝗲. 𝗦𝗲𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺?
Hope, 𝙄 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨??
Thank goodness there is always hope, as it is a promise of better times ahead. Unfortunately, hope alone won’t get us where we want to go.
So what does work?
Well, of course, it’s different for everyone, but here are 10 intentions that have been working for me, so I plan to carry them into next year.
1) Grace—Giving myself grace with the understanding that we are all on a journey, and at 50-something, some things are going to take time to unravel.
2) Presence—Making a daily intention to remain connected and to be present with my spouse, away-from-home kids, and the most important people in my life.
3) Authenticity—To stop playing small. We are all unique and have something special to offer this world. It is a gift from our creator to find out what it is and how it might serve others.
3) Permission—Continuing to give myself permission to focus on my physical, mental and spiritual well-being. If you’re like me and you haven’t been doing this—it’s time to put yourself on the list.
4) Consistency—this was my word for 2022. I put it as a weekly reminder on my calendar, encouraging me to keep going with what was serving me and let go of what was not. It has served me well; I plan to keep it for 2023.
5) Failure is not a 4-letter word—I have always learned more from what hasn’t worked for me than what has. So, now I welcome these sometimes painful lessons because they’re like a compass pointing me toward a better, more well-suited path.
6) Lifelong learning—Embracing the idea that it’s okay not to know how to do something…YET.
7) Listening to myself—Honoring my needs and giving myself permission to rest, go on an adventure, and simply be more in tune with what I need in the moment.
9) Awareness—Being keenly aware of the positive and negative messages I tell myself. Can we be done with negative self-talk once and for all? It has never served anyone. If this speaks to you, I pray you will leave behind all the negative messages you’ve been telling yourself.
10) Remember to have fun—Let’s do more things that bring joy to our lives and find reasons to laugh until our faces hurt. 𝘽𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚: Joy is infectious and spreads easily—no mask required!
🥳 𝙒𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙜𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪.
-𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 💗𝙇𝙞𝙨𝙖 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨
*𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙙𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩? 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚—𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬.
Lisa hopes to share life’s stories through the ever-changing platform she founded, called The Evolving Nest. She writes and shares insights about her own triumphs and struggles during her 30-year marriage to her husband and best friend. Together they have 3 growing children, two of which live 1,500 miles away most of the year, and an adult son with autism who has the run of the upstairs to himself. Lisa also contributes to Her View From Home, various podcasts, and of course, her own website, The Evolving Nest.
Please consider following The Evolving Nest on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin or receive the latest post via email, or writing for The Evolving Nest. Lisa is motivated by the quote, “What will the world miss if you don’t tell your story?”-Donald Miller
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