New Year's Resolutions are Bullshit
F#ck new year's resolutions.
Let's all agree that new year's resolutions are just a bunch of bullshit. I'm all for building off of the new year energy. January is my favorite time of year because it feels fresh and full of possibility. It's just that the method of scribbling down a big sloppy list of habits we expect to make and break with the snap of a finger is, well, kind of silly.
For me, the new year is all about intention. Instead of setting a bunch of goals I know I'm just going to forget about (or fail at) in a month anyway, I take the time to go deeper. Not that my goal of 100k Instagram followers, a million dollar business and buns of steel aren't all noble pursuits, but c'mon you guys, one step at a time. Instead of trying to leap over all my life goals in a single bound, I cut out the superhero complex and take a more mindful approach.Every year is a little different, but here are some of my favorite mindful rituals for the new year (which, by the way, you can do anytime).
1. Gratitude, dude
Be thankful, yo. Make a long list of all the awesome stuff in your life. And like, really put some oomph into it. Carve out an evening for reflection. Light some candles. Take a damn bath (cause you deserve it). Put on a pot of tea and sit with your past year with a pen and journal in hand. I bet you have an accomplishment or two you haven't paused to acknowledge yet. In fact, I bet your life is pretty damn magical from a gratitude perspective.
2. Let go of the bullshit
Let's run out the bullshit, shall we? Swat it out of our lives like Dikembe Mutombo in a Geico commercial. No no, not in my house. My favorite letting go ritual is to perform a burn ceremony. The best part is, you actually get to burn stuff. So bust out some scrap paper and scribble down all the shitty things that came up for you this year. Get real with it, no one's gonna sneak a peek. Pour your heart out and confess all the yucky shit you're holding onto. I have no shame in sobbing my face off for this part.Take all the time you need. Write down five things or fifty things you want to let go of in the new year. Limiting beliefs, bad experiences, people, habits, negative self talk, whatever. Then go outside and light that shit up (safely, please). As the paper burns imagine all the bullshit turning to ash. Poof, feel a sense of lightness and relief as you let that shit go.
3. Declare your power
I'm all about the affirmation jar method. It's kind of a spin on the gratitude jar, where you write down things you're grateful for, and you know, put them in a jar. First step, find a colorful mason jar or container of choice. Next, cut out some tiny pieces of paper for your affirmations. I like to use brown craft paper and sharpies because well, I'm Martha Stewart AF (but without the jail part). The point is, you want to make it fun.I don't worry about contributing to the jar daily, but I keep it on an altar where I can add to it when I feel called to, or pull an affirmation out for inspiration. I write down all the kickass stuff I want to embody like "I am in my power" "I create miracles" or "I commit to creating wealth." Think of affirmations as tiny declarations to the universe that you are the curator of your life.
4. Theme your year
Instead of setting goals or forming a rigid set of rules, I theme my year around a desired feeling. Last year, my theme was authenticity. That might sound fluffy, but I meditated like crazy to get to the core of what I needed most. My focus last year was to strip down to the purest, rawest version of me. That meant letting go of roles that didn't serve me, dropping expectations and lifting veils that I had started layering myself with over time.This year my word is "rise." Rise represents a call to show up, stand in my power and make a bigger impact. The idea of a yearly theme isn't to reach a destination. There's no "getting there," so that takes the pressure off planning or expecting a specific result. Your only job is to live by the values that you choose and use them as a tool to guide your actions as you go.