It’s a brand new year, and with a new year comes new goals, plans, and a new energy to take action. A lot can be accomplished with the forward momentum of a new year, but it can also be easy to veer off course and land in a rut with wheels spinning.
That was me. I was spinning my wheels earlier today. I knew it was time for action. I had spent the better part of November and December learning, thinking, planning, and growing into what I wanted to do for 2020 (and yes, there’s some awesome stuff coming).
So the first of January arrived, and I was ready to go. But instead of going, I became stuck in a fog of anxiousness, not sure what to do first. My mind stuck in a loop as I considered what I would be doing for the next month and over the next year.
I have learned from past experience that when I this happens, the best thing to do is to just stop everything. So I took a few hours to go outside and enjoy the gorgeous, warm day we happened to be blessed with on the first day of January.
After some relaxation and contemplation, I realized where I messed up. I was paying so much attention to tomorrow, the next day, next week, next month, ect. I wasn’t actually paying attention to the now. And the now was pretty freaking awesome as I basked in golden sunlight.
Why the heck was I so upset in the first place?
Oh, that’s right. I have stuff to do! Lots of stuff! A whole bunch of stuff that I decided I wanted to accomplish in 2020.
I then reminded myself that not everything happens in a day, or two days, or even a few months. Things happen over time. And they happen a whole lot better with a lot less problems, when we are enjoying what we do.
Yes, it’s a new year. Yes, it’s a new opportunity to do our best, and find new goals to achieve, but it’s okay not to have everything figured out on January 1st, 2nd, 20th, or ever.
I have a plan. I know where to start. So maybe instead of hitting the gas and going full speed, I can settle with doing one or two things a day. I can pick which things to do by feeling what’s right to do in each moment. As I connect with the rightness of each moment and each action, each moment turns into a string of moments that builds into a lot of action over time.
Soon, I can look back and see how much I truly accomplished, and it takes my breath away. I did all that? Wow.
How do I know this? Because I’ve done it before with great success. But I allowed the excitement of the new year to muddy the waters. I have so many great things that I want to accomplish, I forgot the most important thing.
Living in the moment.
There is nothing–no goal, no achievement more important than feeling good and enjoying life. If we don’t have that good feeling, what’s the point of even existing? In the moment, is where life is lived. In the moment, is where the best life has to offer can be found.
It is the moment that can help us decide what to do, and which direction to take. If we just let the moment be what it needs to be, it can guide us to the actions to take. In fact, the more we endeavor to enjoy each moment, the more the right pieces will fall into place at exactly the right time.
I am grateful for that reminder, and I pass that reminder to all of you.
And by the way, one of the goals I wanted to accomplish was a blog post the first day of the year (to help set the tone for the rest of the year). And here it is. Maybe not the one I expected to write. But certainly the one that needed to be written.
Happy New Year to you all, and I wish you the absolute best in all your awesome goals and plans. Just remember to have fun along the way, because that’s the best part anyways.
Cynthia D. Griffin 