New Year, Slightly Modified Me

On January 1, 2020 I will wake up as the same person. Well actually probably a very tired version of myself because midnight is way past my bedtime. 

I love the excitement of the new year but I’m really skeptical about resolutions. Setting a list of goals to suddenly start as the calendar flips to a new year seems like an unrealistic expectation and a sure way to disappoint yourself.  

With that calendar flip, I plan to embrace New Year, Slightly Modified Me. Not new me. I’m not interested in a new me, I’ve spent a lot of time with current me. And yes,there are some changes I could make for a healthier life but I’m not going to set myself up for disappointment. Like giving up sugar, not going to do it. I am treat motivated like a super sweet toothed puppy.  

I don’t trust resolutions. They are often about punishing or depriving yourself and often times not about celebrating. I love to celebrate, heck, I make birthdays at our house like national holidays. 

Now if you came here looking for a really motivational post about changing your life, this will be a slightly different journey towards your goals. For me, it’s a more realistic journey. I do believe you can change your life, your mindset, your goals, whatever it is you want to change. I just don’t believe you can do it simply because a new year started or you set a resolution. 

Change takes work, dedication, and most importantly to me - self awareness. It took me a while to figure out that my business goals weren’t working because I wasn’t being true to me. I do my best work and feel my best when I’m organized, planned out, and thoughtful about how I envision the future.    

So in the beginning I promised a slightly modified me. So what am I going to modify? And how am I going to modify it? 

I love the concept of embracing a word for the year or a theme to focus yourself. So I’m declaring 2020 the year of MOVEMENT for me. Movement is broad and gives me a lot of options to center my goals and celebrate the wins (small, big, and medium) - 

• FAMILY - Celebrating the movement in our family as our children are both becoming school aged. Our youngest will go to kindergarten in 2020 and we will celebrate this new season for our family.  
• HEALTH - Intentionally moving my body every day and being so happy that I can do that. I actually started this in March when I joined Sweat PGH and it has done wonders for my mood, strength, and health. I’m committed to reminding myself everyday how much I love group exercise classes and moving my body.  
• BUSINESS - Moving my business forward. I easily become ‘idea paralyzed’ when I have too many ideas in my head. I will commit to writing them down, planning them out, and moving forward on them (even if it’s very slowly). 
• COMMUNITY - I’m committing to political and social movement by finding reliable sources to educate myself, always voting, engaging in conversations, and teaching my kids about the importance of political and community engagement.  

I also want to celebrate the movement and changes in the lives of those around me. So whether you are setting resolutions, goals, intentions, a themed word, or just welcoming 2020 with a simple hello - let me celebrate with you. I hope that you give yourself some grace to change and move as needed for you. I hope that you wake up each day with an unstoppable feeling and don’t wait for another January 1 to live the life you want.  

Happy New Year!

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