Clearing the Path for the New Year- your YOU Year
The snow globe has been shaken, tossed, and almost thrown to the floor this year… this month… this week.
Beautiful glittering bits of snow swirl around you as the gusts continue to bellow, seemingly trying to knock your glass figurine-self over. Thankfully, your porcelain feet are grounded with gobs of hot glue to brace the storm, reassuring that you are stable, constant, and can thrive through it all. It’s just a matter of time before the snow settles again.
It’s the work and preparation you do during the furious flurry that decides if you will be depleted, frustrated and anxious when it settles or if the packed white powder will lay graciously around your feet waiting to serve and support you on your path forward.
The month of December is a short whirlwind; short because of all the time spent around holiday planning, decorating, and merriment making. It’s also usually a fairly chaotic time of year with unplanned weather events and visits from family you haven’t seen in years. But it doesn’t have to be a topsy-turvy month. No, you can take your time and power back and use it to serve you for the entire year ahead!
Designing in December
While you’re already planning gifts and shared meals with loved ones, make room for groundwork that will pay off; allowing you clarity and focus for what really matters in 2022. I have been “Designing in December” for quite a few years now so that when January rolls around, I can jump feet first into my goals and intentions, setting myself up for healthier new habits sooner.
My “Designing in December” usually consists of taking care of my business basics like tax prep, balancing the books, and organizing schedules for known projects in the new year. These may sound like boring, daunting tasks that most of us push off in every effort of procrastination, but honestly, getting them done in December clears the way for me to focus on what I want to achieve next professionally and personally.
I find having a clear idea of what I want to achieve in the year to come before the New Year resolution season hits is extremely beneficial. And if I’m ready for it and have the time to begin working towards those ambitions before January 1 – why wait?! Take the pressure off the meaning of the month and don’t betray yourself with inevitable burnout.
Celebrate your Progress
What happens when you push something so hard that it goes past the land of discomfort to a place of pain?
Trauma. Regret. Triggers. All of which deter us from ever trying again, so don’t set yourself up for failure by using the calendar as your start and finish lines – life it’s not a race. Your dream may require months or the entire year to accomplish healthfully. There will need to be baby-steps and celebrations along the way so you don’t throw the towel in by the time February rolls around.
For instance, one of my main professional goals for 2022 is to push through my discomfort of public speaking so that I can share my story and my voice with those who need to hear it most. Speaking in front of others isn’t scary for me when I am presenting someone else’s work, passion, or ideas; it’s when that work, passions, and ideas are mine that I feel uncomfortable in my own vulnerability, which leads to an internal panic and possible freeze at the mic. I know this about myself and understand I will fail if I try to go from zero to ninety overnight. Instead, I will take baby-steps to get my footing while still pushing myself (pain-free) and begin with the commitment to live-interviews, to small gatherings in front of people, and work myself up to small to midsize presentations in front of strangers. Perfectly imperfect, I will reward myself for simply taking the steps along the way and doing the work.
Dig Deep
Shoveling the falling snow in the snow globe helps keep my footing for when it finally stops- this is the month of December for me. Shoveling, organizing, and salting the walkway to 2022.
My ongoing personal goal of traveling all 50 states by the time I am 50 years old is a lot less stressful if my travel can be arranged and scheduled before the year kicks off.
When I can plan ahead of time, the more confidently I can serve my clients, care for my loved ones, and myself along the way. When the snow does finally settle, I will have definitive piles that are ready for me to build a better version of myself. A rebranded, fresh, and future-forward Amy.
Get your shovels poised and ready this month so you don’t have to dig yourself out right away in the New Year. You have a lot of things to see and do in 2022!
