New Year's Resolution 2024
2023, what a year.
2022 was obviously a very momentous and fun year, and I went into 2023 with high hopes. I noticed that my mental health had taken a hit, so I wanted to fill my year with things that made me happy and left me feeling fulfilled. Making it my Year of Fulfillment, I decided to keep a journal and each week, create goals for what I wanted to accomplish. For example, some goals that I had were to read a certain amount of pages in a book, work out a number of days that week, and go see a movie. Then, at the end of the week, I would check off what I was able to complete and also jot down other things that had brought me fulfillment that I hadn’t originally planned for. This way, I was constantly striving to do things that I knew would bring me joy. Other activities I sought out in 2023 were participating in a couple 5k races, revisiting simple activities like Sudoku and Solitaire, and reading before bed.
Throughout 2023, I remained committed to therapy and maintaining my mental health. That does not mean that my mental health was thriving this past year. It was a rough go and I found myself struggling a lot, mentally and emotionally. We adopted Buster at the start of the year and while he has brought absolute joy into my life, there were plenty of obstacles too. The whole process of finding out about Buster’s rescue, applying to foster, then meeting and taking Buster home all happened within a week. I’ll be honest, I found it hard to adjust so quickly to caring for a rescue dog. In a week, our lives completely changed and the plans we made for the year had to basically be thrown out the window. Buster, especially at the beginning of the year, required a lot of attention and we’ve been working on improving his separation anxiety. We’ve also worked really, really hard on helping Buster get comfortable and confident in general, but he is still very timid around other people.
2023 was also filled with lots of lost and lonely feelings. Those low moments did seem more prevalent this year and I found myself really struggling with bouncing back. So even when I was striving to remain fulfilled, I couldn’t escape some deep rooted emotions and mentality.
OK, so next year’s resolution.
During this year of therapy, I learned that my mind instinctively steers towards the negative. That did not come as a huge surprise to me, but working with my therapist has helped me unpack those thoughts. My anxiety always has me preparing for the worst case scenario and I tend to have an all or nothing mindset. Meaning, if my plans or ideas don’t go 100% completely how I had hoped, then I ultimately view it all as a failure. Even if 90% goes right or how I had planned, my brain still can’t accept that as good enough (Imagine how I felt while planning our wedding). I can spiral really easily, become incredibly critical of myself, and have to work hard on thought blocking to not let myself sit in those ruts. As a tool, my therapist once told me, “Don’t water the negativity.”
So with that in mind, I’m dubbing 2024 my Year of Positivity and Self-Care.
Because of how my mind works, I would say I’m not a naturally positive person. It takes a lot of work for me to stay positive and not let panic, stress, and anxiety completely overwhelm me. I would like that to change so I don’t feel like I’m constantly stuck in a state of negativity and gloom. At least, I can put in the effort to set myself up for success.
Some ways I plan on prioritizing positivity in the new year include:
Limiting social media usage. This has been a big topic for me in therapy over the last year and I genuinely feel like social media has a negative impact on not only me, but society. For me, nothing good comes from endless scrolling. I tend to compare my life to the curated ones of those I see online, which ultimately makes me feel like crap in more ways than one. The past few months have been especially difficult online and I think that it would be best to cut back on how much time I spend on social media.
Work towards a more regular work out routine. People always say that working out can make you feel better and it’s so annoying that those people are right. There have been plenty of moments where I feel like garbage before the gym and once my work out is done, I feel so much better. I believe if I make fitness more of a focus, even if it’s two to three days a week, I will feel better in my day-to-day.
Have plans to look forward to. I’m the kind of person that needs something to look forward to. When we adopted Buster and our plans for the year suddenly had to change, I listed out each month and started jotting down potential plans. I find that I feel better if I can see what is on my horizon and have time to get excited for my upcoming plans.
Additionally, when it comes to self-care, I could definitely be better. COVID and working from home allowed me to easily slip into a lazier approach when it came to my appearance and caring for myself. And speaking of social media usage, I found myself doom scrolling more this year than doing activities that allowed me to rest and reset, such as reading, writing, and practicing gratitude. I think by focusing on self-care, my positivity will also be impacted.
I’m grateful for all that 2023 brought my way. Andrew and I got to revel in our first year of marriage and Buster has been a wonderful addition to our little family. We were still able to take many trips and I also started a new job. Overall, the year was a great learning opportunity and I felt like I really tapped in to some deep emotions. Going in to 2024, I’m hopeful that a healthier and more positive mindset will help bring on a plethora of happy moments. Here’s to the new year!
To give my previous resolutions a read, check out my blog posts below:
