2021 will be great. *knock on wood*
In all seriousness, I know for certain that the next year will be good. Because I will make it good.
Not with quantifiable New Years’ resolutions of higher salary or lower body fat or more preset sales or anything that yields only fleeting happiness once achieved. That was my lesson in 2020. Every resolution checked off the list only brought momentary joy. Then back to real life.
My goals were good, but not for the right reasons.
I wanted to lower my body fat percentage, not be overall healthier.
I wanted to find a job that paid more, not a job that made me happier.
I wanted to sell the most presets possible, not create more because they make me happy.
The list goes on. Good goal, poor purpose.
My 2021 goal is to have purpose behind everything I do. I want my actions and decisions to be intentional, not just means to an empty “resolution”. Don’t get me wrong, my previous goals brought me a lot of achievements, memories and lessons. They were what I needed last year, to run headfirst into the brick wall that was 2020.
My approach is different this year. I learned that ultra-specific and measurable goals only go so far when you can’t predict the circumstances in which you’ll try to achieve them. For example, had a goal last year to take a new trip every month. For obvious reasons, that wasn’t feasible. I didn’t meet the sales goals I had set for myself because it didn’t feel right pushing photo filters on people during a period where so many were without work. I wanted to buy a house but had no idea my relationship would be so strong and the “my” goal would become an “our” goal. I never would have guessed I’d be spending NYE quarantining with my fiancé recovering from COVID-19, a virus I hadn’t even heard of 365 days ago. I’m making my new resolutions with that in mind.
Wherever I am this time next year, wrapping up 2021 (hopefully somewhere in the Caribbean), I want to know I lived the year intentionally.
I want to get to know each of my friends a little better this year. I want all my relationships to be a little more snug. I want to be a better friend to everyone in my life. I want to acknowledge the memories while I’m making them. I want to call my grandparents more. I want to use every excuse to call Austin my fiancé for the first and last time in my life. I want to soak up every moment of wedding planning, however tedious and cheesy it might get. I want to see my brother more, and notice the tiny ways he gets closer to adulthood every day. I want to let myself sleep in without guilt. I want to recognize the privilege that fitness is and never forget that health is a gift. I want to be more charitable with my finances and trusting with my tithes. I want to forget about my phone for an evening (or many evenings). I want to write down all the things I intended to but never did. I want to listen more closely when people speak to me and really hear them. I want to kiss Austin every time I think about it. I want to grow my knowledge in my new field at work. I want to take more candid pictures and fewer posed. I want to talk to God every night, even the ones when I don’t want to interrupt my New Girl binge. I want to celebrate every success with my people as if it were my own. I want to feel my cheeks hurt from smiling. I want to never forget that every part of my day was exciting at some point, and tap back into that novelty. I want to rave about every cup of coffee and every sunny day as if it was the first I’ve ever experienced. I want to remember that while the firsts get fewer as the years go on, the lasts are sudden and unexpected, and I want to live accordingly.
2021 will be a great year.
So now, as I sit with my pants a little more snug than they were a month ago and my bank account a little emptier than I’d like it to be, I am reminded to show grace to my body and myself, exactly as I am today. My present self is a result of living the past holiday season to the absolute fullest, and probably spending a little too much on gifts for the ones I love. I will not let myself get so consumed with finding a flat tummy again that I forget to listen for what the Lord is saying to me during this new year. I can almost guarantee my calling for 2021 isn’t just to lose a few pounds and save a few bucks. While I hope to do that along the way, I pray to be used for far more eternal things this year.
I am listening. I am ready. I am hopeful.
Here’s to a new decade.
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