Embracing Forgiveness and Acceptance to Redefine Your Image for the New Year

365 days make up one full year, and within each day are the unique experiences that either make or break us. It would be naive to think that one can go an entire year unblemished, free of heartache, rejection, trials, tribulations, and drawbacks. 

That’s why we have normalized New Year resolutions as a society,  hoping that our current livelihoods would change for the better during the next chapter of our lives. However, throughout my life, I have realized that an action plan does not work without the actual action part being enforced. 

However, making your resolutions clear and enforcing them before the new year will set you up for an abundantly successful year. In my experience, the best form of resolution is acceptance and forgiveness. 

These are my first two steps to demanding growth, respect, and evolution. Now do not get me wrong, acceptance does not mean you should allow the things that do not benefit your growth to linger in your life. However, take into account that every little experience, good or bad, has a way of teaching a lifelong lesson that can help in the long run. 

I’m sure you have heard the quote “Forgiveness is not for them, but it is for you”, as cliche as that may sound I have realized the profound truth behind that philosophical statement. 

If my goal for the new year is to be free from the baggage of the previous year, my first step to a fresh slate would be to release myself from any heartache or emotional constraint that has attached itself to me throughout those 365 days around the sun. 

It is important to realize that an entire year is a lot of days full of opportunities and all different kinds of engagements. Which is why it is important to take the time to re-evaluate and contend with the experiences that may have affected your character, way of thinking, and emotional stability throughout the year. 

Allowing yourself to exterminate any negative characteristics or bad habits that may have consumed your life, is the first step to a long year of success and freedom. 

For instance, as a woman who wants to accomplish goals and turn my visions into reality, one character trait that I would have to combat is my procrastination tendency. This is a obstacle that has stopped me from becoming the person I’ve always wanted to be for a long time. 

There are even times when I despise myself for allowing my lack of effort to delay my success. However, before this year ends, I am making it a mission to combat what holds me back, accept my flaws, and forgive myself for my failures. 

By releasing myself from harsh judgment, and forgiving the imperfections that have shown up throughout this year, I am making space for grace, improvement, and character development. This is the oil that refreshes a rusty engine and keeps a car moving on to its destination. 

Even if you find yourself in a position where an external entity is causing you pain and holding you back from your desired character development, the solution to this discrepancy remains the same; acceptance and forgiveness are the keys.

To accept does not mean to allow, however, it means to take the situation as it is, without any justification or excuses, but raw and uncut. Through this act of situational awareness and acceptance,  I allow myself to cut the weeds off of my flowers while pinpointing the characters in my life that cause more encouragement rather than destruction. 

Acceptance is the first step to purifying your life in a way that will demand a change. While forgiving those who have hurt you, is the key to regaining back control over your emotions and redirecting that hurt into a passion. 

My resolution to redefine my image for the new year is not a journey that begins on January 1st, but it is an action plan that I put into motion each and every day even before I wake up into the new and improved year.

Being intentional about cleaning up the little problems, like unforgiveness and denial, creates a foundation for accelerated growth and abundant success. The strategy that I plan to use to redefine my image for the new year is not overly complicated or excessively descriptive. However, from my understanding, it is the little aspects of our lives that create our biggest resolutions. 

• forgiveness
• mental health
• new image
• New Year