Hello Space Makers!
As we get closer to the end of 2024, the posts about resolutions, making changes, and “self improvement” are getting more frequent and more intense.
If planning new things is appealing to you at the moment, then have it.
I don’t object to the practice, I object to the idea that we have to have everything figured out right now, that we have to take ourselves away from holiday, end-of-year mode and jump right into something new.
And I hate the ‘do it now!’ ‘last chance!’ ‘be better!’ tone of a lot of those posts.
Please don’t let all that pressure crowd into your space.
It’s ok to be seeking rest, to be reflective, to take things as slowly as feels right to you. It’s ok to keep making space for yourself to be the way you want to be right now.
And whether or not you feel like moving into goal-setting mode, please remember that there is nothing wrong with you, that you aren’t a project, and that you do not need to be fixed.
If you want to add something new to your life, if you want to change something about your systems or your processes, or you want to make your life better in some way, and the new year seems like a good time to do that, please forge ahead.
Just be kind to yourself in the process.
But if all of these posts and ideas about resolutions and changes just feel like more pressure and if they make you feel like you’re not getting enough space, then you don’t have to change anything.
You don’t need resolutions just because there’s a new calendar year.
You don’t have to be on a constant mission of self improvement.
You do not have to add more tasks just for the sake of adding them.
And if you think you might like to make some changes, or to add some more interesting things, some more fun or some more challenges to your life, you do not have to start on January 1.
You can pick a convenient time of your own choosing when you feel you will have the resources to follow through on your plans.
As you may know, every January, I write a series of Go Team posts that are about encouraging you to start the year with self-kindness, to be realistic about your interests, your capacity, and your time, and, if you are trying to build new habits, that it’s ok to go gently.
Within those posts I like to remind people that I’m there to provide support and encouragement, not pressure. No one has to start anything new in January. They can start whenever they like.
Personally, while I start some things in January, I have also labelled the month as Planuary because that’s when I like to sit down and think about the months ahead the best I can.
So, keep in mind that this is your life and these are your plans.
Trying to cram yourself into someone else’s idea of what you should do won’t leave you with a lot of space for yourself.
So I hope that you will reject, to the best of your ability, any outside pressure to proceed in a way that doesn’t serve you well.
I hope you’ll take up the space and time that you need to figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it.
And I wish you ease throughout that process.
With all of that said, let’s check out the suggested practices for today. After all, we need space both now and in the future and sometimes we have to work on both of those things at once.
Our suggested movement practice is a Short Wake Up Flow from Yoga with Adriene
And our mindfulness practice is Evolving Through Life’s Cycles from Great Meditation
