Do you feel like me? Social media and blogs are all pounding me with the same message – 2016 is here! Make it the best one ever! Here’s how to make your resolutions stick this year! Get yourself organized! Give yourself a new body! Eat healthy! Have an amazing year!
Just one problem. It’s only the second week in January, and I am already behind.
Goals?
Not yet. Can I just recycle last year’s goals? I had twenty and completed three and a half. That leaves over sixteen for this year. Plenty to keep me busy.
My One Word?
Sort of chose one. I think I’ll keep it. Until I hear a friend’s much-cooler-my-one-word. Then I start to reconsider.
New planner?
The one I like takes two weeks to personalize, which means I won’t get it until February. I could make my own again, if I can find the time.
Christmas decorations?
Still up. We didn’t get our tree until the week before Christmas, and I want to enjoy them. But I also feel behind because they’re still up.
Homeschool plans?
Working on them. We did math, spelling, and cursive yesterday only because I could grab her workbooks and turn to the next unfinished page.
Meals?
Haven’t got a clue. We finished most of our holiday leftovers just recently. Finally. I am officially sick of sweet potatoes and turkey.
Writing assignments?
Late. (Sorry, Tiffany!)
Everyone else is pumped up about the new year, and I just want to recover from vacation. I need about a month after Christmas, not a week or two. If we could start the new year in February (when that new planner might arrive), that would suit me just fine.
If you are like me, below is my list of how to make 2016 the best great really good, even if you are starting it behind.
How to Make the Most of 2016 {even if you’re beginning late}
Don’t put January 1 on a pedestal
It’s just a day. If you weren’t ready for the new year to begin on January 1 (like me), start it when you are ready. Any day is a good day to start over.
Be realistic
About your goals, about the amount of control you have over the next 365 days, etc. Sure, go ahead and set goals. (I may have only accomplished three last year, but that was three more than I would have without setting them!) But keep it real. You could do everything right and still have a hard year because of events outside your control. And you could do everything wrong and find yourself blown away by an absolutely amazing year. That’s not to discourage you, but to recognize that you are not in charge of this world – which can be frustrating or freeing, depending on your perspective. What you can control is you. What you focus on, what and who you give your energy to, what kind of person you decide you want to be. The inner you, more than the outer you.
Go easy on yourself and everyone else
Because truly, each one of us is on a journey, and this year is just one step in it. You will not find yourself perfect on December 31, 2016, and neither will anyone else, and that’s okay. Learn to approach each day with grace for others, and yourself, and to embrace the life God gives you.
It’s More Than a Year – Forging the Path Meant for You
Seven years ago, I found myself staring a new year in the face. The old one, 2009, had been punctuated by the loss of two babies in pregnancy, three cancer scares, six surgeries, and two major hospital stays. In some ways, I couldn’t wait to say good-bye to it, and in other ways, 2010 scared me. Goals and resolutions were far from my mind. Who was I anymore in the wake of all I had endured in 2009?
Now, in 2016, I can look back and see what God does with a broken heart and a broken life, because that new year that I was unprepared to face saw the beginning of our Naomi’s Circle pregnancy loss ministry that now has hold of my time, my life, and my heart. It led to the beginning of my own blog, as well as this writing opportunity on the Columbia SC Moms Blog and others. It was the road that led to the birth of my rainbow son. I couldn’t have planned my way into what God has done the last seven years.
So dear mom who is starting 2016 behind – take courage. You’re not behind at all. You’re on the road, the same as all of us, and you don’t have to be on top of things for the year to be all that it is meant to be.
Blessed New Year, sweet friend. Embrace it!
