Happy New Year! Here we are in 2022, a new year. A blank page. A fresh start. There is something so exhilarating and exciting about a new beginning. A new home. A new city.
Infinite possibilities and potential lay before us as we begin something new. We chart our course as we decide what steps to take and what we create. We decide who we will become in this new season.
And this is what entices us year after year to make New Year’s resolutions and goals. New Year’s resolutions are great. I am all for self-improvement and having goals. However, when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, we tend to focus upon where we are falling short and what needs improvement. We beat ourselves up with our shortcomings and failures.
I was scrolling through social media when I saw a slide show recap of the previous year my friend Sarah Nichols shared. It was simply captioned: “what a year it has been.” So simple. Yet what struck me was how much they had accomplished and it made me realize, I have accomplished a lot this past year too.
Just off the top of my head I could list a handful of accomplishments, hurdles and fond memories from the previous year. I knew if I paused further and intentionally reflected upon the previous year my list would only grow.
Yet, it is so easy to forget all that and look at the handful of instances where we failed or look at what we feel needs improvement. We beat ourselves up every January as we decide how we think we should look, behave or what we should accomplish. With the new year we get so caught up analyzing where we would like to improve or change, we fail to give ourselves due credit for all we have accomplished and done well.
So this year let’s pause. Before the resolutions. Before the goals. Before the theme words. Before the theme verses.
Let’s take a moment to look back on 2021 and catalog what we accomplished, did well, are grateful for, our favorite memories, and what we hope to carry from those into the new year. Let’s take a moment to look back on 2021 and catalog what we accomplished, did well, are grateful for, our favorite memories, and what we hope to carry from those into the new year. My prayer for us is that we begin this new year feeling confident, empowered, and inspired rather than feeling like we don’t measure up or less than.