New Year, Old You
It’s almost here. That shiny New Year many of us have been waiting for to say “good riddance” to 2020, the year that has been immortalized by death, destruction, and conservation of toilet paper.
And yet, we are also realizing 12:00AM on January 1, 2021 is not going to be some magical reset button. It’s not a Y2K in reverse, making everything better with a switch of the calendar. Many of us lost loved ones and jobs this year. 2021 isn’t going to make that any easier. In fact, this year may actually be worse for a lot of people. Some of us are starting the year deeper in debt, deeper in depression, deeper in desperation.
Where do we go from here? As a society? As a government? As a healthcare system?
I wish I had easy answers for all of the Big Questions. But I have spent some time working on my own Small Questions: How do I want to grow and change in 2021? What do I want for my marriage and family? What do I want personally and professionally?
Anyone that has known me on social media for any number of years knows I am not one to make New Year’s Resolutions. But I still loooooove new calendars and planners with fresh starts. I try to make resolutions all year long, but there is something magical about this Christmastide season between Advent and Ordinary Time (I’m also obsessed with the Liturgical Calendar). Nothing outwardly may change at 12:01AM, but I think it’s okay to give ourselves permission to change on the inside.
This is not a time for “New Year, New You.” In fact, it’s time for learning about the Old You more than ever. Here are a couple of things I recommend if you are looking for ways to lean into this New Year in a New Way:
1) Rule of Life
Sounds harsh? Nah. A Rule of Life is simply “a commitment to live your life in a particular way,” according to Tsh Oxenreider. What is important to you? How can you DO and BE more of that, not just this year, but beyond?
Based on a handbook by St. Benedict of Nursia, Oxenreider has an online workbook that you can use to craft a tool to keep you on track with personal high-level (and low-down) priorities even when the rest of life seems out of your control. The resource is available on Oxenreider’s website (just google her name) for a “pay as you can” price.
2) Commit30
This is my first time using a Commit30 planner, although many of the habits I try to to reinforce (drinking more water, writing daily, etc) are in month-long blocks. While you can order a paper planner, I am committing to digital this year and have downloaded the PDF into my GoodNotes journal.
The practice asks you to choose one thing each month that you are going to do consecutively for 30 days. I am opting for one spiritual thing and one natural thing each month. For example, in January 2021 I am committing to 30 days of worshiping for 1 hour and donating one item in my closet. These “habits” reflect my value for intentionally refocusing my attention back on The Reason for Every Season and my desire to cultivate a simple and classic personal style. I may end up like Albert Einstein with only one baggy sweater and pair of pants before it’s through.
3) Word for the Year
This one is a bit more nebulous. But I have prayed into this practice at the end of every year since our 10-year old was a baby. We once had a pastor at our first family church in Oklahoma City (you may have heard of him, Craig Groeschel) talk about choosing one word to focus your year on.
This is open to a lot of interpretation, so if you are going to consider it, I suggest you spend time in prayer. Some years I know the word I need (ie: “JOY” after a deeply depressing and exhausting year with littles, or “PEACE”), but some years I have no idea. I don’t want to spend my year chasing a word that isn’t in God’s plan for me, so it is extra important on this one to hear what He is saying. Write it down somewhere, find a few Bible verses to reinforce it, and keep coming back to it.
What are your routines and habits as the New Year comes around? Do you make and break resolutions? Do you pretend it’s just another day? Do you have any other suggestions to help us learn more about Old You in the New Year?
