To say the past year has been exhausting would be an understatement. I speak for many when I say everything has felt like an uphill battle, from barely getting by to pay bills, the constant paranoia around the pandemic and mental health issues, 2021 has felt like a never-ending nightmare. However, not all has been lost.
Despite the uncertainty of all that is going on, this year I:
• Leaned in much closer to my friends and really saw the people who would slay dragons for me. I always say that I don’t have a lot of friends but I have really good ones.
• Figured out proactive ways to deal with my anxiety (this is an ongoing process). Noticed my triggers and really listened to what my body needed. If I needed a mental health day, I took one. I set up boundaries and stuck by them. I was also much kinder to myself, particularly what I think about myself (again, ongoing process).
• I released a lot of excessive thoughts about my body, especially during periods when I wasn’t working out. This body got me through an entire pandemic without once getting sick and handled vaccine side effects like a champ. It deserves love, kindness, a fairly balanced diet but most importantly, it deserves to be listened to.
• I learned. I took an online course which sparked a whole other love affair with writing. I also wrote in my journal a couple of times. I haven’t done this since high school and it was definitely a missed habit.
There are a few more things that I learned and experienced this year. In such a tumultuous period, I managed to slow down, take deeper breaths, check in and live in the moment as much as I could. I hugged every good moment as tight as I could, laughed until my belly ached and when I felt like ugly crying, I did just that.
As Christmas and New Year’s draw closer, for the majority of the country it might not seem like there is much to be jolly about. But I implore you to look around at everything you have survived and give yourself a pat on the back. Sure, we can’t travel but we can spend time with the people we care about while we can still enjoy them. Every day, try to write down just three things you are grateful for, look at yourself in the mirror and smile, and then go on about what you love about yourself. Tell them you love them, tell them today.
Lastly, I challenge you to take on something that brings you joy in the new year. It can be a class or course you have been meaning to do. It could be gardening, for instance, I really need to stop killing every plant that comes within my radar. Whether you want to learn how to knit, detail a car, restore old furniture or take up kick-boxing; whatever you do, follow your bliss. Happy holidays!
