Happy New Year beautiful people! We are two days in and honestly, the first week of the new year can be pretty overwhelming so take it easy. I wanted come back with some positive words and a gentle way to ease us into the new year with these three essentials.
Although you can start fresh at any time in your life, there is something about the new year, starting at one again that makes it that extra bit easier to start fresh. I love using the new year as a fresh start, a reason to start something new and to have a change in mindset.
I wanted to share three things I think will help you start the new year off with a positive mindset.
Start The New Year Right By:
Allowing Yourself To Start Again
Give yourself permission to start again, to use the new year as an incentive to hit the refresh button.
I like to look at the new year as an opportunity to start new goals, revisit old ones and to practice being mindful. Your goals/intentions don’t all have to be work related, you can manifest; more self discipline, better self care practices and an openness to share more of yourself with loved ones.
Starting again doesn’t necessarily mean forgetting the past. We don’t simply forget the past, we find ways to utilise the past to teach us about the present.
Setting Clear Intentions
Intentions feel like gentle goals, almost like affirmations, and just as powerful, they create those necessary reminders we all need from time to time. Setting intentions allows you to create the space for growth, honesty and self-appreciation.
Intentions are the things you want to do, things you want to be more mindful of. Intentions create the why behind your goals, goals without intention, tend to fall short – Setting goals that are too general or impersonal are difficult to follow, creating intentions that are personal to you are more likely to be something that you want to do.
Example: I will make time to check up on myself every weekend after yoga as I am more mindful of my thoughts then.
Forgiving Yourself
As humans, we all make mistakes and make decisions we sometimes later regret. It’s important to know that regardless of the choices we make and the situations we may find ourselves in, forgiving ourselves is a gift we are deserving of.
Before the new year I wrote down a few lessons from the year, I was really honest about some of the things I wasn’t necessarily happy with but never the less still learnt something from, writing that all down gave me a great sense of relief. I made the conscious effort to not shame myself, instead of putting myself down for the things I didn’t do or did incorrectly, I wrote it down amongst the good, as opposed to separating the positive and negative.
Example: I Stayed true to myself, and learnt from the times I wasn’t honest and true to myself.
Even when we make mistakes or revert to negative habits, it is important we speak on the times we made the right choices for ourselves.
Journaling and self reflecting doesn’t have to take up much time and it doesn’t require you to write in full sentences. Write a few bullet points, things you want to manifest, things you want to handle better, and the things you feel are better left behind.
All goals don’t have to be achieved in one year, remember to be kind to yourself and realistic with the time limits we put on our goals. Be aware of the fact that the universe/God also has plans for us and they can sometimes conflict our own goals if you’re meant for another path.
I hope you have an amazing year!
SAABIRAH LAWRENCE 