New Year, New You?
Every year, the same old refrain. New Year, New You!
As if the best ambition we can set for the new year has to be fueled by a sense of disappointment (or worse, disgust) with our past selves. It's 2023. No one needs any additional self-loathing. It's hard enough out there.
Sure, I've got a feeling of renewal at the new year. New energy, a new planner, new annual workplan and all that whatnot.
But a new me?
The old me was just fine.
So instead of writing all the things that I want to do differently this year, I'm going to treat the 2022 version of myself with a dose of compassion and kindness and recognize all the amazing things that I was able to accomplish in amongst yet another year of chaos and change and general upheaval.
Instead of counting opportunities missed or tallying up all the times I didn't meet my goals, I'm going to list out all the things that I learned about myself and about the way I want to be in the world.
Here are 22 things that 2022 has taught me:
The only constant really is change.
Kindness doesn't cost anything, and I deserve it just as much as anyone else.
True friendship means making the time.
Life is not a zero sum game.
Making a plan is the easiest way to guarantee that things don't go that way.
Solo vacations should never be underestimated.
There is just no replacement for the joy of being in one place with all the people you love.
Your work cannot be the most important piece of your identity.
Seasons come and go in all aspects of life.
Some people in this world are just never going to see things my way and it is not worth my time to try to convince them.
Apparently, liking tomato soup comes with age?
Life if just too dang short to work with people you don't enjoy.
Nothing will look quite the way you imagined it.
You can take on a lot, but that doesn't mean that you should.
Patience is a skillset.
Processes, man. They're just really important.
Making time to dream big will make everything feel easier.
Reading is still my favorite hobby.
Surrounding yourself with beautiful things doesn't have to mean owning those things.
Having snacks around is a great decision.
Often, I'm not the best person to do something. Delegate more.
I will never stop learning.
If 2022 taught me anything, that most important thing was that change is constant and I need to stop thinking that I can prepare for anything. My predictions will never be accurate and my schedules will never go to plan.
However, if you can learn to be flexible and adapt to changes as they come, sometimes the results can be even more amazing than what you planned. And that's a great energy to take into the new year.