New Years Day 2021
Well, here we are. We made it through 2020. We don’t yet fully know what lies ahead for us with Covid-19 this year but we do know there is a faint light at the end of the long tunnel. There is hope that the vaccine will be effective for the strain of C-19 we know and for the new versions that are mutations of the original virus. And hope that life can go back to whatever the new normal looks like. I just hope it includes being allowed to gather, hugging my kids, my extended family and my friends. I have missed that the most.
But this post is not to dwell on the past year. It’s done. Kicked to the curb. It’s so last year.
This post is to ask you to join me in something I do on the 1st day of each new year. I call it My Promise To Myself. I follow Chef Cynthia Louise and she recently posted something very similar that she calls an Inner Health Contract. I am thrilled that this goddess of a woman and I do something similar. I find her entertaining, fascinating, knowledgeable, brilliant, beautiful and completely inspirational! She lives life large and wonderfully, seemingly without a lot of stress burdening her, and that is my goal too.
Mine works like this. I write up and keep handy to refer to it often, the things that I will hold myself to throughout the year. If you have read my other blogs, you’ll know that I tout drinking water, getting outdoors for exercise, eating well and taking time for yourself - these are on my list every year and will be on for 2021 as well. The list changes from year to year as my life evolves. I hold myself accountable to keeping the faith of these beliefs that I hold dear for my body and soul. There is no limit to the number of promises I include and each is of equal importance. This year it’s 17. Last year it was 14. The important thing is to write them down, commit to them and act on them.
Here is My Promise To Myself for 2021:
Start and end each day with Gratitude and Prayer.
Embrace the wonderment and miracle of new life.
Keep a journal and write in it daily to reflect on how full my life is, even if a lot of days are filled with routine everyday life things.
Celebrate the BIG and the little wins.
Drink water throughout the day.
Get outdoors for exercise and fresh air.
Eat whole foods, made from scratch foods, to nourish my body.
Include vegetarian meals at least 3x a week.
Plan, organize and use my time as beneficially as possible.
Allow myself to have and enjoy downtime to think and be mindful of me.
Read at least 1 book a month – not on a device, but real paper books. All kinds and genres.
Focus on what matters to me.
Believe in myself, try new things, always be interested and keep learning, always be bold and fierce.
Face challenges as opportunities to grow.
Be patient with myself. And kind to myself.
Hold family and friends close – even if it’s through Zoom, Skype or FaceTime.
Fill each moment with love.
Now it’s your turn. Write your own list, or use mine, as short or as long as you wish, things that you want to be or do or feel. Keep it personal and private. Or post it openly in your home. Read it over often (at least weekly) and keep yourself honest with it. It’s meant to be stress-free, and only for yourself, so if something really isn’t working for you on your list, cross it off for this year, let it go and move on to the other wonderful promises you have made to yourself, to be healthy, happy and calm.
From my heart to yours, I wish you the very best for the New Year and may 2021 be a really good year for us ALL!