Better Resolutions

The physical, the creative, the connective, and the challenging.

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

We’re now three days into the new year, and maybe you’ve made (or already broken) a resolution or two. I really love this time of year, when we take stock of the last 12 months, and consider what we want to bring into our lives in the months to come. But resolutions can also be fraught, and a lot of what we resolve to do either doesn’t get done, or won’t actually make us all that happier even if we accomplish it. There is so much shame and disappointment tied up in resolutions, when really, this time of year can simply offer the opportunity to check in — to ask what made us happiest in the last year and how we can bring more of that into our lives; what feels stale, unfinished, or worth leaving behind; and what feels exciting, interesting, or even painful but necessary to fold in.

This year, I’ve been thinking about my resolutions and intentions (which is just a Yoga Girl word for resolutions, I think?) in four tranches: The physical, the creative, the connective, and the challenging. And I think these four categories are really useful ways to organize your hopes and ideally actual plans for the new year. What kind of physical activity would make your body feel like a happier and sturdier home? What kind of creative works would make your heart feel fuller? Which connections with other human beings will help you to feel more loved and supported? And how do you want to push yourself to grow — working through discomfort and difficulty and agitation and anxiety and maybe even pain to learn or do something new?