2021 — It’s the Beginning of Anything You Want

As I get older, I find that achieving New Year’s resolutions results almost exclusively from our mindset and what we decide to do with our time

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After the year we’ve all just had, I feel it’s safe to say we’re all secretly (or rather obviously) looking forward to the start of 2021. And we’re all hoping it’s going to be a better year than the one we’re leaving behind.

However, as I get older, I find that the magic of New Year’s resolutions and new beginnings stems almost exclusively from ourselves and what we decide to do with our time.

Let me explain why I firmly believe that 2021 can be your best year yet.

Mindset Over Setbacks 

We’ve all heard a story or two about people who have been faced with incredible hardships and managed to make their life a success despite all the hurdles.

My great aunt was one such person. Energetic and cheerful well into her nineties, having survived two children and her beloved husband, not to mention a war, she never let life drag her down for too long.

I believe that your mindset can help you overcome practically anything in life. Of course, challenges will still be difficult, and loss will still be loss. But if you choose not to remain down for too long, you can come out on top. 

Consider What You Want 

While I no longer make resolutions, I do find that taking a good long look at my life in January usually helps me start off on the right foot.

Over the holidays, take a bit of time for yourself and examine the year you’ve just had. Consider what you have achieved, what you are grateful for, and what it is you would like to do with your time in the year that has just started.

Writing these things down is a great way to keep yourself accountable.

Plus, you’ll be able to look back on them one day and see where life has taken you.

Try not to aspire to things you don’t really want to be doing. Make a list just for yourself. What do you want from 2021? It can be something as simple as “smile more,” or it can be something huge like “get my degree” — but make sure it fills your heart with joy. 

Learn Your Lessons 

No matter how much we may dislike 2020, and no matter how much it may have hurt us, it has hopefully managed to teach us a thing or two.

Firstly: we never know what’s coming. I doubt anyone (except maybe a few scientists) could have predicted we would spend 2020 in lockdown. Literally anything can happen just around the corner, so don’t spend too much time worrying and fretting about the future.

What you are dreading may never happen — and something you’ve never considered just might.

Secondly: don’t let your fears and insecurities hold you back anymore. Make 2021 a year of YOU, a year where you no longer let your thoughts about ‘what if’ hold you back. Everything you’ve always wanted to do but have been putting off for this reason or that can find its place in your 2021 calendar. 

Build the Proper Foundations 

To start the year off right, you might want to focus your attention on ensuring you have the energy and the time to do everything you want to do.

Start by waking up earlier. I know it sounds like a cliché, but it really does make you feel like you have more of the day, and you aren’t as sluggish. However, you need your sleep, so reaching this goal might need to start with going to bed earlier. 

Consider your diet and how you treat your body. You want it to be happy and ready to carry you through any and every adventure. Even if the adventure is nothing but reading a book, you don’t want to sit there experiencing stiffness or pain.

Eat well, try new recipes (or new takeaways), and find the time to exercise. This could be the year you discover what your perfect kind of workout is. Mine is yoga and thanks 2020 for teaching me that!

Organize your day and your week so that you create enough time to do what you need to do as well as what you want to do — adventures and chilling included.

Final Thoughts 

I don’t actually believe that everything will change when we enter the new year. But I do believe we can choose to make any new year a new chance to do better, to feel better, and live our best lives, and we can actually start that new year at any time — we just have to choose to.

To get there, you need to work on adopting the right mindset and establish a routine that supports you.

Embrace a lifestyle that is comfortable but also offers all the room for growth you could have ever dreamed of.

Here’s to a joyous 2021 — may it be the best one yet!

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You may also enjoy reading How to Thrive in Times of Change by Gary Douglas