This is the time of year when we start to think about our past, present and future. Many of us will try to adapt healthier habits or think about the millions of other things in our lives that we would like to change. We come up with resolutions for ourselves and the brave among us shout their resolutions up to the heavens for all to hear. There is scientific evidence that shows writing your resolutions down or sharing your resolutions with other people increases the odds that you will stick to them. 

Personally, I’ve always found a New Year resolution to be extremely difficult to hold to. In my late 30’s I gave them up, I stopped making them. I realized that I wasn’t even making them for me, I was making them for other people. To put it more precisely, I was making resolutions that I thought other people wanted to hear from me, therefore they were doomed to fail from the beginning. 

Like most things in life, in order to make real change YOU have to be committed to it. If your heart isn’t into it or if it’s something that doesn’t really resonate with your core beliefs then what’s the point? Resolutions don’t have to be big, they just have to be relevant to your lived experiences. 

Now that I am in my mid 40’s I still don’t do resolutions during this time of the year but I do reflect a lot on what’s been working well in my life and how I can lean into that energy. I have the entire year to think about all of the things that I need to change but during this transition from one year to the next I like to think back on all of the successes that I had, all of the wonderful people (new and old) in my life and the experiences I had that shifted my soul for the better. We all have things about ourselves and our current circumstances that we should change but what are those things about yourself and your environment that you absolutely love and would not change one bit?