Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got your new journal, your new planner, your new journal that plans. You got your productivity app on your phone, your bible app on your iPad, and you are eyeing that new Peloton payment plan because OF COURSE you plan on working on your temple and whatnot. You got your essential oils, your CBD oils, and your oil changed in the car. You know that self-care is no longer an option so you’ve budgeted your flexible spending account monies so that you can get your massage, acupuncture, reflexology, and a fresh pair of specs so you can see right. And just in case you need some extra help from the ancestors, you got your collard greens and black-eye peas stewing on the stove AS YOU READ THIS.
Oh wait…is this just me?
I get it. We all see the new year as a “turning over.” An opportunity to begin again. And I know there are a million and one critiques out there as to why that kind of thinking is problematic. Yes, tomorrow isn’t promised and yes, we should probably approach each new day in the same way we approach each new year. Or not.
Listen, go forth and prosper, Sis. Do you, young man. I’m not going to knock anyone’s restoration hustle. For some of us—and by us, I mean, me—2019 was filled with both unrelenting grief and unprecedented joy. Health crises and spiritual revolution. A paradox for sure. And now, we just want to see something else. We want 2020 to show us something else. We want to arrive into this new decade with something else on our mind. I’m here for it.
But…
But…
How do we sustain this feeling on June 17th? Or October 11th?
Take a minute to breathe and feel what this newness feels like in your body. Does it tingle your insides? Make you all warm. Is the tension that was once permanently etched in your brows now gone? Notice that. Pay attention to what peace and joy and renewal feels like. Because in May, you’re gonna need to access that feeling when everyone and their mama has crushed your last nerve. You’re gonna need to reclaim that feeling in September when anxiety tries to make you feel like you haven’t done enough.
How do we stay motivated? How do we keep up the momentum we start the year with?
Here are three things I’ve recently learned to do:
#1 – Be still. Check in with my body. Am I moving and striving and not taking a moment to rest and rejuvenate? Especially after a long stretch of work and creating? No one can climb a mountain without resting regularly at intervals along the way.
#2 – Revisit and re-evaluate my goals quarterly. I have a tendency to front load my year. For some reason, I try to get everything done in the first six months. Naw, not happening in the 2-0-2-0. I do a lot. And for the most part, that’s okay. I’ve been given a lot. A lot of vision. A lot of burdens. But what I will no longer do is finish my list in March. I’ll holla at y’all in October too.
#3 – Soul-care. I know self-care is the thing nowadays. And as I said, I have my massages lined up. But what I think helps to sustain us even more is soul care. How are we feeding our spirit? How are we caring for our emotional well-being? And that’s going to look different from person to person. It might mean therapy for one person. Wait…scratch that…I think everyone needs to be in therapy. Lol. I’m like Oprah giving out cars when it comes to therapy. YOU GET A THERAPIST! YOU GET A THERAPIST! But for real, maybe it means taking walks along the riverfront every other day so you can tend to what’s going on in your heart. Maybe it’s putting down the phone—except when reading this blog or listening this podcast, of course—and reconnecting with the people you love.
So what do you plan to do to remain motivated in this new year? I’d love to hear from you. And check out our latest episode of the podcast where we talk with speaker and author Candace Wilkins on how to be the finisher we were made to be. Click here to listen: http://ow.ly/peSF50xJe3Z
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HeARTtalk - Healing Through Art and Story 