Well, here we are. Another year has passed (goodbye and good riddance 2020!) and we are all ready for a fresh start. Although nothing magically changes at the stroke of midnight, the start of a new year can be a great opportunity to reflect and reevaluate. For a lot of people, this includes making New Year’s resolutions.
I stopped making traditional New Year’s resolutions several years ago because I feel strongly that if you really want to change something, you can start anytime. There is no need to wait until an arbitrary date to make meaningful changes in your life. While I don’t subscribe to New Year’s resolutions per se, I do want to make a few commitments to myself, to others, and to the planet in 2021.
My spin instructor said something recently that I want to carry with me into the New Year. Someone asked her how she stayed motivated, and her response went something like this:
I’m not motivated, I’m committed. When I make a commitment, I stick to it, whether or not I feel motivated to do it.
So here’s to showing up and honoring our commitments to ourselves, to our loved ones, and to the world we live in even when the motivation fades.
Leah’s 2021 Commitments
1. Prioritize My Health and Well-Being
New Year’s resolutions are often body-focused and superficial, such as losing weight or wearing a certain dress size. There can certainly be value in these types of goals, but I think we often fail to care for our inner selves: our hearts, our minds, our spirits. Caring for ourselves is a journey. Sometimes we need to put down things that no longer serve us and adjust accordingly.
Every year, I recommit to a three-pronged approach to wellness that prioritizes caring for my mind, body, and spirit. For me, this includes caring for my mental health, moving my body regularly, and finding ways to build community. What this looks like changes from year to year. Depending on my mental health state, I may opt to go to counseling frequently, or I may be in a place where journaling and meditating does the trick. Movement can range from intense, high-energy workouts to more stretchy, low-impact options. I can find community in both one-on-one, in-person gatherings or virtual group activities.
The point is that every year, I redefine how best to care for myself in these areas and figure out what is going to be most helpful for the current version of myself.
2. Continue To Reduce My Waste
Last year derailed a lot of my plans to reduce my waste. I was so prepared to regularly use my aluminum water bottle, glass coffee cup, metal straw, etc. I was also going to pack my lunch for work more often and make as many sustainable swaps as I could without simply discarding the items they were replacing. I had a plan! But then the world shut down and made a lot of my plan impractical, if not downright impossible.
Even though I wasn’t reducing waste in some of the ways I had hoped, I was surprised by how the pandemic actually helped me in my endeavors. Working from home has meant a lot more homemade coffee, trips to the farmers’ market, and the ability to reduce single-use plastics on a daily basis. I started buying products like body wash and floss from a local shop that specializes in zero-waste and package free items. We had less food waste in our house because we were always home and things didn’t have time to go bad!
In 2021, I plan to continue taking a critical look at the amount of waste I produce and finding small ways to move toward a low-waste lifestyle.
3. Commit to Social Justice
I am ashamed to admit that although I was aware of a lot of the injustices that exist in the world going into 2020, I wasn’t paying very close attention, and I was doing very little to create change. Last year opened my eyes to the violence of silence on important issues. I started listening to different voices, researching issues, donating to new causes, and signing petitions.
This year, I want to take things further. It is one thing to say that I support a certain issue or group of people, but what am I doing to take action? I am still working on what this will look like daily, weekly, and monthly for me so that I have clear goals without burning myself out.
4. Carve Out Time for Creativity
When I was younger, I was constantly utilizing my natural creativity. I made my own paper dolls, handmade birthday cards for friends and family, tried to write a book or two, took singing lessons and dance classes, got involved in high school plays and musicals… you name it. We are all born with a certain amount of creativity. Some of us are able to hold onto that and harness it well into adulthood, but most of us find ourselves with fewer and fewer creative outlets as we age and our days become filled with responsibilities.
This blog started as a creative outlet of sorts for me. I was so excited to write the articles, develop photography and editing skills, and create an accompanying Instagram account. I started to work on all of those things, and, well, life got in the way, as it often does. This year, I want to recommit to finding more time for creative pursuits, including this blog.
I want to reiterate that these are commitments, not goals or New Year’s resolutions. These are things that are directly tied to my values and priorities and will be ongoing endeavors. The process and the journey hold so much value in learning about ourselves and what we truly care about.
What will you commit to in 2021?
Featured Photo by Eric Rothermel on Unsplash
