For me, the beginning of 2019 felt like I was in the aftermath of a bombing and for months I remained in a shell-shocked state. I had a hard time being positive or thinking things would even get better at all, but they did. I still felt many aftershocks throughout the year, but once I found my strength I was able to deal with all my extra baggage much better.
So here is to 2020, may this year be better than the last.
It really can only get better, right?
Every year in December, I begin to think of how I would like my next year to go, what I want to accomplish, and places I would like to go. I always say I’m going to exercise more and that never happens. Along with that, I always plan on losing at least 20 pounds of baby fat still clinging for dear life to my body. That hasn’t happened in almost five years either. What’s the point of making a resolution if I can’t keep a promise to myself?
This year, I’m going to focus on intentions because they are flexible and focused on my hopes and who I want to be a year from now. Let’s also be real, if these goals are not somewhat flexible they will never be accomplished by me. This year it’s not just going to be about losing that extra weight, it’s about the bigger picture of who I am.
My first intention is to be more present in my daily life.
I want to stop what I’m doing and play a game with my son when he asks, even if that means dinner comes a few minutes later or folding the laundry doesn’t get done. I want us all to put down our electronics and do more things as a family. For me, this intention will hopefully bring my family closer. This is something I really need to work on; since I work full time, I often feel like there is never enough hours in the day to get house work done and my children often suffer for that. Who really care if chores don’t get done right away? My kids need to know that family time comes first.
My next intention is to let the negative go.
Instead of pointing out a negative, I will find something positive instead. I want to be more grateful for the things that I am lucky enough to have and I want to instill this in my children. I want to teach them that we are blessed to have a warm home and food because there are people who have less than us. When I pick my son up from school and ask him how his day went, he always says “terrible.” When I ask him why, he will pick out one random negative thing that happened to him. I want him to look at all the good things about his day and learn to shrug off the negative. I always have a hard time shrugging off something negative or letting go of something that has hurt me. I carry that grumpiness around and my family sees it. I don’t want my kids to think I’m unhappy, so from now on, all my anger or negative energy ends before I enter my house.
My last intention is to be inspired.
The things I used to love got shoved to the side during the last few years and I want to start doing things that inspire me again. I used to do photography and was never without my camera. Now I can’t remember the last time I picked up a camera. However, being behind the lens let me see things in a different light and I always felt inspired. Doing something I love always puts me in a good mood and helps me relax and this makes me a better mom and person.
If resolutions aren’t your thing, I encourage you to try and make intentions this year. By listing a few intentions, I can see where I would like to make improvements in my life and there is more than one way to go about achieving them.
