Happy New Year!!!! I love a new day, a new month, and a new year and I have four focus words for a fabulous new year! I am an INFJ meryers briggs personality type so I LOVE all the introspection at the beginning of a new year. INFJ’s are naturally introspective, think about the future, and are very idealistic. So, it’s easy for me to already “know” what I want to “resolute” in January and thanks to high ideals I’m not easily dissuaded by other peoples resolutions – in fact, I love reading yours! January is an exciting month for me. Give me some new journals and new gel pens and I am ready to map out the new year for EVERYONE. har har.
But, guess what? Not everyone in my family feels the same way about January and I bet not everyone one of our readers do either. So, that’s why I think January should really be a resolution discovery MONTH. After reading the book Rhythms of Renewal last year, I think we all should take the entire 31 days to incorporate Rebekah Lyons’ four pillars of renewal: rest, restore, create, and connect in order to discover what our resolutions should be. After all, I doubt anyone was truly thinking about their New Years Resolutions over Thanksgiving pie and Christmas cookies. So take a look at these four focus words for a fabulous new year this month and I bet you will create much more manageable resolutions than from your past!
The first stop is REST. Spend the first week of January intentionally resting. In addition, this is the perfect time to work on your morning and evening routines, which directly affect our quality of rest (and productivity). Take 10-30 minutes each day this week to do one of the listed “rest” activities and be intentional about ordering your morning and evening routines so that they truly bring you rest.
- stretch
- take a nap
- take a walk
- read a book
- journal and reflect
- meditate/pray for 10 minutes
- de-clutter your nightstand/a closet/the pantry/your desk
The second stop is RESTORE. Spend the second week of January intentionally restoring your mind and body (while continuing to practice your favorite rest activities). Restore in the Webster’s 1828 dictionary means “to heal” “to repair” “to rebuild” and “to revive”. Those all sound like the results we all want from New Year’s Resolutions, huh? Daily take some time to practice restorative activities for your mind and body this week…think along the lings of limiting social media or the news. Consider cutting back on alcohol or sugar. And…….
- break a sweat
- do a word search
- play an inspiring song
- organize the fruit bowl
- laugh (get the dad jokes out!)
- sit down and drink a whole glass of water
- play a board game (chess, checkers, scrabble)
“The world needs your unique gifts, don’t leave them still inside you.” -unknown
The third stop is CREATE. Spend the third week of January continuing to rest and restore your mind and body, but NOW create your new years resolutions. Since you’ve been checking in with your ability to rest and restore yourself you probably now know what your new years resolutions should be. So, enjoy being creative this week and……..
- daydream
- plan a vacation/trip
- bake/cook something new
- break in your new planner
- paint or draw with your kids
- clean out a drawer or a closet
- write out your new years resolutions
The fourth and final stop is to CONNECT. Spend the last week of January connecting with your family or closest friends and SHARE your resolutions. Celebrate your personal discoveries and generate a cheering squad as you begin this NEW YEAR!
I hope these four simple words truly help you have the best year yet. You can always connect with me on IG @LivvyRoberts
The unexamined life is not worth living. -Socrates
