Swinging back and forth in our kindergarten recess time, I feel myself almost touching the sky.
“If I can just swing back and forth a little faster,” I thought, “I can surely touch the sky.”
“Hey, Ann*! I bet I can go faster than you!” We both playfully try to see who can swing the highest. The sun gazes towards us as we continue to rock back and forth. Not long after, it’s time to go inside. Recess is over.
I often never realized that being a kid would be the years that bring light into your life. They enlighten your days. You get to be the person skipping, running, and swinging yourself into the clouds-being happy in today.
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Let’s be completely honest. New Years Resolutions fail most of the time. According to Times-Tribune, only about 8% of Americans who make new year’s resolutions follow through. 8%! That means that out of 100 people, only 8 people are determined and willing to accomplish the tasks they had planned before. This year, I am doing something different.
In terms of actual new year’s resolutions, we often fail to do everything because we have so many goals and don’t know where to start. That is why I also challenge you to start small. Write down maximum 12 goals on a piece of paper and try to accomplish one goal per month. In this way, by the end of the year, you will have reached 12 goals.
. . . I challenge you to start small.
Don’t try to practice all your 12 goals of the year starting in January. By February, you will have lost motivation and you will feel overwhelmed. If you set your mind to complete one goal in January, start a new goal in February and continue January, start a new goal in March and continue January and February, etc. you will accomplish more this way and will be able to continue until the end of the year. Good things take time. Starting a new year means also taking care of yourself.
Mental health is highly important. I believe that we need to take care of ourselves, not just one day of the year, but every day. However, I also know that nothing happens overnight. That is why I challenge you to start small until eventually, you take care of yourself without even realizing it. Start with one day out of the month. On your calendar pick a date and write “Self Care Day” on each date of the month. For example, I chose my birth date. Thus, every 7th day of the month, I wrote “Self Care Day” in my planner.
Self Care Day is going to be the date that you dedicate yourself. Continue a favorite hobby of yours, start a book, do a facemask, bake, or paint away. It helps if you have a storage bin or something, where you put things in that will prepare you for this date every month. Whatever or however you choose to do it, take care of your mental health.
Continue a favorite hobby of yours, start a book, do a facemask, bake, or paint away.
Good things take time. Making goals is not bad. In fact, when we make goals, we just want to better ourselves. Find your inner being. Prioritizing mental health is imperative. We need to ask God what he wants in our life. We need to be open to what God has planned in our life. The Bible says, “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). If God wants the goals that we want for ourselves, he will let it happen.
Good things take time.
I hope we never lose our inner child self. For when we were kids, we didn’t know how or even if there would be food in the table. When we were young, we didn’t worry about tomorrow. When we were in our childhood years, we laughed, smiled, and emersed ourselves in the now-today. More than anything this year, I pray we can continue to add a dash of our inner childhood self each and every day. That kid is pretty amazing.
*Names were changed in this blog.