Remember, as a kid, when trying to imagine 2019 or 2020 was completely bizarre? Yep, me too. Let’s be real, transitioning from one year to another can be a bit rough for all of us. We’ve been doing this new year thing for so long that it can feel a little wild to reminisce on how we made it through all the previous years. This year crept up so quickly that we could barely find time to jot down any resolutions! Epiphanies like this may be accompanied by feelings of self-doubt and anxiousness, because it’s a bit scary when we don’t know what to expect of the year or ourselves. To give you a head start, I offer these three tips to help you feel empowered and self-assured through these next 12 months!
For most of us, adjusting to this year will start with countlessly reminding ourselves to write 2019 on our papers instead of 2018. (Trust me, you will catch yourself slipping.)
This leads me to my first tip. Your adjustments for a new year do not have to happen immediately. Here’s an overlooked fact, there is no right or wrong way to fly through 12 months. It is okay to make mistakes until you can recover, learn from them, and move forward. If here is something that you need more time to grasp, shoot for improvement without beating yourself up over the pace you are moving at. The key is to be patient with yourself in all that you do, and watch how your year unfolds more peacefully.
We often hear our peers discussing what (and sometimes who) they plan on leaving in the previous year. The social media memes and posts on this matter are everywhere, but the message is always the same and rather insightful. The name of the game is detachment. Decluttering and detaching from things that do not serve you is vital to bringing peace into your new year!
An important question to ask yourself is what was it that held you back in 2018? Whether it was a toxic relationship, a Debbie-downer friend, a few unhealthy habits, or negative thoughts that kept surfacing, understand that this is a chance to start completely fresh. To help eliminate any hesitance with this, I suggest creating a list of things in your life that make you happy and unhappy. Think of it as finally gaining the energy to gather clothes that you no longer wear and give them away. Once you’re done, you see that you have plenty of space to fill with newer things that better suit you! Don’t be afraid to make room for what you deserve, you deserve bigger and better! The closing of one door always means there’s another door getting ready to open.
My final tip for self-empowerment and reassurance this year is a fun strategy that my close friends and I have used for years to help us recenter our focus on our mental health. Every so often we get together and have, what we like to call, “checkpoint checkups”. We each take turns to share what we are proud of having accomplished for ourselves since the last time we spoke about our goals together. No matter how big or small the accomplishment, the checkups act as a gentle reminder to just be proud of ourselves. The same goes for you. What makes the checkups so effective is it reminds us to consistently be proud of ourselves without the validation of others. This is a way to build upon your empowerment and reassurance. The next time you find yourself feeling unsure of what there is to be proud of, start by realizing that you’ve made it to a brand-new year and congratulate yourself! You’ve got this!