New Year's Resolutions Suck.
Why I Prefer Themes.
It’s the end of the year and 2021 is a few days away. Typically, at this time people are stating their resolutions and setting their goals for the new year. And I have to say, it doesn’t serve me. I think resolutions suck and goals are great for situations but not for personal growth. I offer another option, a theme.
Resolutions are always broken or forgotten.
They don’t work because they are restrictive and don’t allow for changes in mindset or for new understandings. They are made to be broken. When they’re broken, we feel bad, like we failed. It’s like setting ourselves up for failure. Not helpful!
Goals are great for situations but not for everything.
Similar to resolutions, goals are restrictive. They don’t allow for changes in circumstance or situation. When goals are clearly defined, as they should be, we can fail on any number of things, the timing, the volume, the exactness. Goals are important for life situations and business, but there are other options for a new year.
Themes are my favorite way to enter a new year!
Themes on the other hand are open for adjustments in circumstance and situation. A theme is like an affirmation or a mantra. Having a theme for the year means you can apply it in any manor of ways. There is flexibility in application and expression. You also can’t ‘fail’ a theme. You simply apply it as you go through the year, no matter what comes up.
I’ve had themes for a few years now and love the freedom they give me. In 2020, my theme was “out of my head and into my heart”. I’ve spent most of my life living in my head (I have Gemini ascending in my natal chart) and wanted to encourage empathy and compassion in my approach to my life, career and well…everything.
When I set my theme for 2020, I had no idea what the year would bring.
And my theme served me better than I could have imagined. As 2020 unfolded, I approached each situation with empathy and compassion. Sometimes it would be applied to myself and sometimes to others. Either way my theme reminded me to stop thinking and to start feeling.
With my theme in mind, I felt my way through 2020. And as you know, there was a lot to feel in 2020. When I was met with a challenge, I practiced self-compassion. When I was confronted with other’s challenges, I practiced empathy. A theme is a practice for the year.
With my 2020 theme, my practice, I learned to be a better me. I learned to feel and process emotions. I learned to approach my interactions with people with empathy and compassion. I learned that I could express and feel every emotion and allow them to flow through and out of me. My theme served me well. Had I another them for 2020, I’m not sure how I would have emerged from this challenging year.
The new year is starting soon, hello 2021.
I am still looking for my theme for 2021. I’m not sure what it is yet, but I know that it will serve me well. It will be growth oriented and flexible, but I don’t have it yet. I’m feeling my way through that with empathy and compassion too.