To be clear, I’m a mom so hibernating is something in a dream world. However, I do think this time of year it bears discussing that we aren’t meant to tackle every single thing that has been on our to do list for the past 11 months.
I’ve written about New Year’s resolutions before, and if you’re new to my space I’ll sum it up by saying- I think they’re a load of shit. Most people (myself included) begin with multiple beautiful intentions, all to have them get flushed down the toilet by mid- February at the latest.
For the sake of transparency in what I write, I have been doing some house purging the last few days, and in doing so I came across several old journals and planners from the past decade. As an individual that enjoys reflection I flipped through many of them, and wouldn’t you know they all looked eerily similar, on the same time frames. EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. I have wanted the same shit, the same goals, the same changes for YEARS and while I will say that some have moved forward better then others, seeing that trend gave me pause and has pushed me to look at how I’m doing things different this year (as opposed to what I’ve done in years past).
The biggest difference for me currently is actual action-taking. It’s great to write it out, dream about it, and then say you’ll start tomorrow. Or in my case when my kids finally go back to school. Not this year. Action began before we even rang in 2023.
I took last week (the week between Christmas and New Years) OFF. I saw zero clients. I slept in. I watched my son play hockey. I read a book. I began cleaning out our basement one box at a time. I focused on me and what I needed for a week, and it was good. Not excellent because I was still DOING, but what I was doing wasn’t on auto-pilot. I consider that my first win.
Continuing on that trend- I am not allowing myself to be a bull in a china shop during the month of January. Boundary setting is a challenge for me (and as an oldest child/ general people pleaser I imagine I will manage this for the rest of my life in some capacity or another). But I have come to recognize how important this step is. I preach it to the women I work with constantly, and still it is my area of opportunity. Practicing what I preach is one of my top values, and so I walk into the fire knowing it’s for my own good.
Boundaries to me look like setting my client training windows. They fall between the hours of A and B, on C days. I love what I do, and I love the women that I work with. So much so that I’ve been willing in the past to move times and days to fit their needs regardless of what that does to my own. So this month (as a starting point) I have set my windows and I have informed my clients, and so far we are off to a good start.
I also have set “office” hours for myself. This should have been a no-brainer all along, but alas I have more days then I can even count that have been for that purpose and have ended with me looking at my watch at 3pm and asking “what the hell did I even do today?”. While there is a time and place for doing nothing, having it happen because I couldn’t stay on task is not how I want to spend my time.
In terms of my health, my fitness, my own training schedule and taking care of my body (which given what I do is of the utmost importance) I am choosing to lean into less is more. It’s not the first time I’ve HAD to do this. I emphasize “have to” because I’d like to be kind enough to myself that I’m not forced into this situation. I’ll dive more into this at some point because I KNOW I am not the only woman/mom/human that deals with this- but long story short our bodies speak to us if we are in tune enough to listen. Unfortunately my stubborn ass ignores it until my body finally pulls out the big guns and puts me in a choke hold. Once again I’m there, and so it’s time to tap out and begin again. More walking, some lifting, lots of mobility. Down regulation is the name of my game, and I need to learn to embrace it instead of see it as a weakness.
Instead of resolutions, this year I am setting intentions. I’m speaking those intentions, I am actioning them, and I’m not looking too far past this month. I am choosing to slow down and “hibernate” if you will, instead of pick up my pace. Nature (at least if you live in the northern hemisphere) is dormant this time of year. Only us humans try to fight nature and do it our way. What if instead we leaned into this slower time and layed down a path that allows us to move harder and faster once the seasons change? What if we chose intention with action over resolutions that fizzle out as quickly as they begin? If this sounds like something you know will benefit you, feel free to share with someone that will cheer you along on your way.
Until next time!
SG