The latest trend when it comes to New Year's resolutions is "speaking out" a word over the year that lies ahead. In doing so, this word-of-the-year becomes a mantra to carry with you throughout your day-to-day; something that signifies a greater goal for the year. Instead of focussing your energy on typical (and often abandoned!) New Year's resolutions like losing weight or finally organising the garage, powerful, positive words like "BALANCE", "SELF-LOVE", "HEALING", "JOY", come into play.
In 2019, I decided to give the word-of-the-year resolution a try. I lived by the word "Balance". Lo and behold, it helped me to better learn how to juggle multiple aspects of my life. Seeing as it's a simple, one-worded resolution, it never made me feel overwhelmed. Instead, it felt easy and welcoming. I exercised more; ate more vegetables; rested more regularly; planned my schedule months in advance instead of always playing catch-up. I was able to get to things on my To Do List - important, long-term things that are vital for the sustainability of my business - that I was unable to find time and energy for before while dealing with short-term deadlines and commitments. Within a few months, I already felt more balanced.
Now, how about 2020?
Believe it or not -- for me, 2020 will be the year of "NO!" (with the exclamation mark included!). On the surface, this may seem to be an extremely negative word to hang over ones head... Allow me to explain:
Something that I have always struggled to do is set healthy boundaries to protect my own happiness and mental health. I say "yes" waaay too liberally... So much so, that I often end up over-committing, taking on things that I don't want to do and bending over backwards to accommodate other people's demands.
Don't get me wrong - I am all for taking on a challenge and walking the extra mile in the name of good service. But if you are doing these things at the expense of your own well-being, then it isn't right. People-pleasing habitually and for the wrong reasons will only lead to expectations that you are a doormat that never says no...
In 2020, I will gently and respectfully say NO! I will say NO! without guilt and the need to justify my decisions. I will say NO! to set healthy boundaries in order to protect and empower my own well-being. I will say NO! to things that will not serve me, so that I have the time and energy to say YES! to things that will. A good friend recently put it so well, "If it's not "HELL YES!", then it's NO!".
So YES!, bring on 2020: The year of NO!
See the South African Animal Alphabet here:
