Revisiting new year resolutions & goals with joy and hope

Written By Rachel Ann

We're in the second half of the year and I'm sure you've seen many social media posts about making the most of it (“you have 6 months to do your new year's resolutions so do it now!!!!!!”) with a huge sense of urgency to drop everything and work on that goal immediately. While they usually mean well, they're putting on so much pressure that we don't really need.😫

So allow me to walk us through a happy medium where we review our goals from a place of compassionate correction & holistic care, instead of falling into black & white thinking of either putting on all the shame and pressure or neglecting your goals in the name of self-care or some other misused psychology term.

The happy medium looks something like this…

Breathe & affirm

Take a moment to breathe, and say this affirmation to yourself: I am able to manage this situation. I will create solutions that work to help me accomplish my goals. For the goals that are no longer relevant, I will let them go and not judge myself. By taking a moment to breathe, you’re inviting your mind and body to slow down for a second. And in order for the affirmation to stick, you need to be a mindset and place where you can listen and hear the affirmation.

Be compassionately curious

Now take a look at your goals with a compassionately curious perspective. Ask yourself some questions like: are these goals still applicable or did things change? Is this goal a good fit for right now, later on this year, or another year? If I want to accomplish this goal, who can I ask for support? What does God think about this goal?

Being compassionately curious means you’re wondering and asking yourself questions from a place of kindness and wonderment, not judgement, impatience, or frustration. It’s hard at first, I know! So keep trying, and see how you get better at it (and if you don’t get better at it after a few tries, then that may means there’s a narrative to unpack and unlearn. Hit me up so we can do that together.😉)

Breathe again & pray

Breathing again helps you to self-regulate and feel less stressed. As your breathe, ask God to speak to you about the goals in question and to help you overcome the temptation to shame or bully yourself. It’s also helpful to ask Him to posture your heart to hear from Him, and take away any temptation to be defensive or prideful (those two tend to make it tough to hear God.)

By approaching your goals with these questions and this mindset, you're allowing yourself to be honest, trusting that you can handle the truth and that you will indeed find a solution. If you want to accomplish the goal but just haven't done the work, then that means you may need a nudge from an accountability partner or trusted person like a coach (hello!🙋🏽‍♀️) It doesn't mean you're lazy or unambitious. It means you need support and some direction, which a lot of us need in order to get things done.🫶🏾

Need more support? Lemme help you sis:

Rachel Ann
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