Why I’m Skipping Out On The Usual New Year’s Resolutions

A few weeks ago, I quietly told myself that I was going to ditch stereotypical New Year’s resolutions for 2023. It’s not that I don’t have ambitions, nor is it that I’m afraid to commit. I just have to slow down and embrace a softer, more grace-focused life. For me, that won’t come with a flurry of sticky notes. It’ll come with being present.

I’m hard on myself. I don’t let myself rest until I’ve completed a task. Then I just move on to the next activity without acknowledging what it took to make the last one happen, or recharging. It’s fast-paced and frankly, unsustainable.

Because of all of the pressure, personal quarterly projections, and changes that I pile onto my plate, usually at the top of the year (and continue to do throughout the year), my cup is empty a lot. I don’t want to operate like that this year. Actually, I can’t. So I’m not even giving myself the opportunity to conjure up this grand list of self-assigned demands.

That’s what it’s come to feel like. Demands that will make me feel terrible if I fall short.

So I’m hopping off of the hamster wheel, putting my sharpie down and taking my time. Finally! Mama is reflecting more, breathing more deeply and getting real about how my big, scary, to-do list actually feels. I’m just..existing, I guess? I don’t have it in me to be rough with myself this year. I’m just taking it all one day at a time.