Advice for Doing Things Differently in the New Year
This year has been a weird one hasn't it? We've trudged through nonstop mire in our environment. The ongoing pandemic, continuous volatile political divisiveness - no matter where you live, the impacts of aggravated weather currents from rapidly escalating climate change, social issues like the rising hate against practically all minority populations, all topped off with the incredibly tight strain of inflation and capitalism. While a lot of these things aren't new to this year, it feels like those themes got thrown into a pressure cooker along with a few others for spice and cooked until exploding. It has all been put into such glaring relief that there really is no looking away from it. We’re just going to take this moment to acknowledge the champion you are for making it through another year. That alone is a success.
I mentioned way back in January that for me I was dubbing this the Year of 'Being Seen', and I first embarked on this being more literal - putting my face out on social media more, and then more metaphorically looking at who I am as a person and shifting through the layers of that during my saturn return this year. But I also think, looking back, that this was the year of being seen for the Earth collective too. Literally everything has been thrown into glaring relief, strung up in flashing lights, forcing us to see all of the grimy bits of our collective. It's why I think this year has felt so long, even while individual months felt like they flew by. It was a year filled with so much being seen. But that can also lead to us getting burnt out, and even disconnecting and disassociating from it all. It's easy to get overwhelmed and just shut it out because who is truly capable of processing so much at one time? Much less developing and deepening a spiritual practice, a luxury by most standards.
Certainly not bringing all of this up to drag you back through the mud of it all, but in part just to congratulate you on the fact that this has been a hard year and you made it through yet another one. If no one else has said it, I'm proud of you.
I also wanted to share a bit about how I've been conceptualizing and preparing for the new year and how you can maybe use some of the questions I've been asking myself to do things differently in your own unique way this coming year.
We're going to actually start by looking forward, then use that mindset to reframe how we reflect back on the year behind us more strategically.
Looking Forward
You know how I said I'd dubbed 2022 the year of 'Being Seen'? Well, I realized the other day that over the past several weeks I've been intuitively referring to 2023 as the year of 'Doing Things Differently'.
I'm not a huge proponent for setting super specific goals for a year, but I do like the idea of letting a year speak to me through a certain theme. I didn't necessarily choose 'Being Seen' or 'Doing Things Differently', they just kind of made themselves known as the new year started to stretch into form (usually sometime between the witches’ new year and the winter solstice). I like the flexibility that a theme can give; there's a general vision that gives you a direction to go in, but also a flexibility to flow and float in some unexpected routes. I don't feel like a failure if I miss a certain mark, but it also gives me something to anchor myself to, and that I can attach more flexible aspirations to. It also opens me up to look for that theme throughout the year and be inspired by it instead of boxed in by it.
Doing Things Differently
As I'm standing here in the foothills of pre-2023 I'm envisioning the theme of 'doing things differently' as a challenge to re-conceptualize the way I approach my habits, goals, and by nature. . . maybe even my identity. Afterall, in 2022, I was vastly reconceptualizing my identity through the call of 'being seen.' So to even come to terms with what I, what we, want to do differently in 2023, how about some questions?
What personality traits do you most admire?
When reading books, or watching tv shows, or playing video games, what themes are most prevalent in your favorite forms of escapism?
I'm keeping it simple with two questions because I think it's important to really take your time with them as they can tell you a lot about yourself. These questions open you up to the things that your soul is in resonance with, but (especially with the second question) that there is also resistance to like fear, insecurity, uncertainty, etc - and as a result is blocking you from engaging with it more actively.
What's really great about this vision for the year ahead, is that it encourages flexibility and even failure. It champions experimentation. It opens you up to the concept that you get to decide who you are and what that means. So that leads us to the more fun part of this process:
Curating Your Identity
I want to propose the idea of approaching 2023 as an opportunity to curate your identity, and more specifically, re-conceptualizing who you are. In theory, that sounds pretty grandiose and intimidating. But in reality, all it is is deciding to intentionally and consistently 'do things differently'. So this is your opportunity to brainstorm:
Intentionality: which specific themes that came up in the previous two questions do you most want to set the intention to experiment with and do differently in the year ahead? Is there a way you can set this intention(s) throughout the year?
Consistency: How will you challenge yourself to consistently experiment with these themes? can you brainstorm some different things you want to try? How will you hold yourself accountable to consistency in doing things differently in 2023?
Bringing it Together
Now we're going back to reflect over the year we've already experienced. I like doing it in this order because it allows us to look back without getting lost in it, and we're looking back through the context of how it will help us do things differently in the year ahead. With these prompts, I want you to do these a little differently. Instead of answering more specific questions, I'm going to present you with two different ideas that were prevalent this year. I want you to get into a meditative state, connect in with your body, and allow yourself to just freely write about the subject for as long as you feel drawn to. Let it be jumbled and incoherent, and let it develop intuitively as your subconscious speaks through. The biggest thing is to try not to overthink it.
In the pressure cooker energy of this year, it was really easy to get burnt out (or experience a period of intense mental and/or physical fatigue around a specific area of your life). Begin by thinking about the sensation and experience of being burnt out and what it feels like. What else comes up for you when thinking about this energy?
There have been a lot of opportunities this year for both friction and growth in our dynamics with others. Experience what comes to mind when thinking back on events throughout the year How did it make you feel then? Now? What else?
After you're finished with both prompts, you can go back through both and search for themes that pop up. What was prevalent? What was missing? Anything that was unexpected?
Take a look at everything together, the themes that arise for your vision of the future, and your experiences of the past. It can be valuable to compare and contrast those wisdoms. How can it help you be more strategic in refining your approach to the year ahead? Did the themes that came up when writing about your sensations of burn out illuminate something you'd like to change in your routine or approach in 2023? How can you bring more consistency into modifying your relationship with others in the future? What else?
Closing Advice for Doing Things Differently
Doing things differently, does not necessarily mean doing only things that are easy and comfortable. Often times, the things that are challenging and overwhelming are also what are the most fulfilling and rewarding. The difference is that they are also challenges that are likely to be tied to themes that you identified above that are important for you to explore this year, or that you want to curate into your identity. When you are pushing yourself to explore perspectives and experiences that drive your curiosity, you become 'more' of yourself, and that is also worth the uncomfortable. While it's essential to find a balance of rest and gentleness, be sure that you are also giving yourself enough credit for how strong and capable you are to explore the things that are important to you.
This energy is perfect for 'fake it till you make it'. You should never try to become the cookie cutter version of someone else, but life is really just a series of actions. An artist is someone who committed to consistently trying art, for better or worse. An outgoing person is someone who consistently practices talking and interacting with others. Life is a series of faking it until it doesn't feel fake anymore, practicing until it feels safe in your bones. Carrying over what I talked about above, this requires getting comfortable with intentionally doing things outside of your comfort zone. Practiced resilience. Sometimes that may mean blasting music and yelling alone in your living room to hype yourself up to make an important phone call, but if so, by all means do what needs to be done.
Similarly, in the spirit of doing things differently, it is essential to personalize and experiment. Want to be someone who is more in tune with their body and physically fit but don't like going to the gym? Started doing it in your living room but it got messy so oops I guess that means you can't do it today? Not necessarily. You don't even have to clean the living room first, you can just do it differently, youtube an exercise routine that you can do in your bed. If it's something you really want to do, finding a way to do it consistently and intentionally is the most important thing, and customizing it to your own needs. Let it evolve throughout the year and become what it needs to be.