The past year has ended and we eagerly wait to see what this new one holds. We know what we want, or at least we think we do, but we have no concept of what the new year will truly hold. Let us reflect on a year that will forever live in our minds continually charging rent. The year we will all remember is 2020. Personally, it was a highlight year for me. But, at the start of that year none of us knew how unique, unusual, and for a majority catastrophic that year would be. No one could have predicted that that year would infinitely live in the pages of history books for the date to be learned by students years later. Despite our list of goals and best efforts, the year is unpredictable and out of our ability to control. But, there is no harm in having a direction of how you would like to see the year go. Thinking and writing down different tasks, ideas, or anticipations could help guide us through the year. As I have said before, goals are great to have and important to help us head down a direction. But, just as we are unable to predict the outcome of the year, we are unable to predict how well we will be able to carry out our goals.
My Plan
As I talked about before, I have some ideas about my hopes for this new year. I try to make a short and sweet list I can fulfill as the year runs its course and sweeps us away without our knowledge. This year I am trying to place more of my time into writing and finally begin writing a book as well as continue finding topics and words for future posts. That is the biggest ambition (followed by knocking my love of watching man-made lives soar across a screen to a lower priority on my list). Any book has the ability to entertain a reader, yet a great book has the opportunity to sweep its reader into a whole different world; transporting them into a controlled imagination. I am looking to find more books that pull me in and entice me to keep reading. I am not a reader by nature, but it is an aspiration of mine. Those are the top three goals that rest on my list. January is only the starting line to our new journey, we shouldn’t feel rushed to be proficient or disgruntled because we have struggled to find our momentum.
Grace
It is important to try our best and push ourselves beyond the rhythm of our everyday life. Starting a new habit takes time and patience. As I have said, it’s about starting slow, allowing the paint to dry before we add on another layer. If the target is to infuse our life with more fitness we need to know that we won’t be lifting our heaviest and running every day. We would start slow and build. With any new year reset or the start of a new habit, there will be days when we revert to what is comfortable in our everyday life. We need to provide grace for ourselves and understand that is not a step backward. It’s important to know that grace and laziness do not walk hand in hand. They are on completely different streets. Grace is allowing ourselves time to regain our momentum whereas laziness is giving up and allowing ourselves to come up with an excuse. If we are committed enough to make something a goal we need to own up to it and put in the effort. There are so many possibilities and opportunities that come with this new level of life. Unforeseen circumstances that are beyond our control, knowledge, and whatever plan we think we have. God has this funny way of changing directions on us when we become comfortable. He challenges us, pushes us, and stretches us. And if a path change occurs, disrupting our plan, we need to carry that grace and understanding with us to the new locations to then either try again or find something that fits the new space better.
Unpredictable
Nothing in life is predictable. Every day we wake up to a new set of choices, words, and actions. Although a new year is a great starting point to refocus and start something, we have that option each new day, week, or month. But, we need to be disciplined enough to remember that if we want to change and finally do something we’ve been wanting to do, we can’t continually push it to a new day. A decision that I chose to make today could alter what tomorrow will look like. It's a cliché-sounding sentence, but fascinatingly true. Our decisions and motivations are like controllers in a game. God is the game creator, knowing each avenue that could take place and we are the players. What we choose to do could determine our character's plot line. There are different challenges, people, and maps that we need to learn how to play through, but we are all just out here playing our own game.
A New Perspective
None of this information is new. We all know that different decisions pave the way for different outcomes. But, when an event like restarting a year is presented to us, we should make it our goal to place our best foot forward despite the challenges that we might face. All aspirations, whether life altering or simply day to day, are all an important part of our recipe. From the people we meet to the words exchanged, to the thoughts that shatter in our minds. So as we start this new game, remember our strategies and plans that we have calculated to complete this new level. Remember that the game's Creator has purposely created tasks and challenges to strengthen and motivate us to continue and not become bored. We all work as a team to prompt and push each other towards our own finish line, but also remember that we each are playing our personal game that we alone are in charge of completing. Each game is different so, as hard as it is, we can’t compare. Courage, grace, and resilience are our friends.
This is a sister post to End Of Year Things…. Making goals or setting goals isn’t for everyone, but we all have something that we are working on or striving for. This post isn’t a guide but a reminder. And if not for you, then definitely for myself. I hope you had a fun and exciting new year. I am looking forward to writing new posts and hearing more from you all. With that, it means so much when you share the blog, subscribe, and/or follow @theallie.way on Instagram. Enjoy the weekend and thanks for reading Allie-Cats.
Dru Allie
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