6 Ways To Make The Most Of The New Year

A growing list

Photo by Roger Martin on Unsplash

Count your tiny victories as they come

When we turn the page on a calendar year, it’s easy to get swept up in the grand plans for our future. It’s fun to make vision boards, manifest dreams, and plan the tiny and larger things you want to accomplish in the next twelve months — and while that’s a worthy goal, sometimes, that gets overwhelming. Sometimes life takes a turn, and the items that you jotted down in your journal and the pictures you have on your vision board don’t entirely turn out the way you thought, and that’s ok. The key is not to get derailed completely, but instead, find the time to count the tiny victories that pepper your days — and you’ll see how the accomplishments that seem to be the most minor will often contribute to the larger ones.

Make “no” a part of your vocabulary without guilt

“No” is a complete sentence. It doesn’t require guilt, or an explanation, although you’re welcome to expand upon your reason, should that make you feel better. But it’s ok to say “no” to the things that demand your time and drain your spirit. It’s ok to say “no” to purchasing items that you don’t need and attending events that aren’t necessary and being in constant communication with everyone in your life at every hour of the day. It’s ok to say “no” to whatever you need to so that you may make the most of your days and live in a way that is both healthy and happy.

Let your body and your soul rest as needed

Sometimes, when we think of “rest,” we think of a nap. We think of getting more sleep, developing better sleep habits, or going on vacation and lying by the beach with the sun beating down upon our skin with a book in one hand and a drink with a tiny umbrella in the other. And while that is undoubtedly a version of rest — sometimes, you need to let your soul rest, too. Sometimes rest means letting yourself disconnect — from work, from the world, from the demands that you place upon yourself. Sometimes, rest looks like losing yourself in a book, a television show, or a walk in the woods. Sometimes, it looks like the blank pages of a calendar — to do whatever you choose to, at that moment. Sometimes, it’s something else…