Charming Changes
The time many people over-hype is closing in on us, and I have already been feeling the squeeze of sensible planning with a touch of delusion coming on. It feels so simple to start a new year with all kinds of grand statements on how things will be different: “I’m going to practice an hour of mindfulness for one hour as soon as I wake up” quickly becomes “I won’t take my phone into the bathroom unless it’s going to be a while”. We always want to better ourselves so much that we forget it doesn’t have to be grand leaps, but instead baby steps.
They also say you should never share you plans with people until they’re already done, so as not to jinx yourself, but for accountability purposes I’m discussing mine. Since this year is ending wildly different that I could’ve expected, I feel like making plans is necessary. My baby steps are going towards improving my business, generally spending more time physically creating things, and figuring out how to take better care of myself. These are all small potatoes, but also important to me. I have become very vulnerable in various ways, and finding what works best for me is truly important.
Hopefully you will also take some time to consider how you can do better for yourself in the next 12 months. Use the Japanese term “kaizen” as an example; identify the smallest changes you can do to improve at the task at hand. For me, that has been the small task of setting up my coffee and supplements before going to bed. Or it could be putting your laundry into the machine at night so when you wake up it’s ready to go. There is nothing wrong with small or slow tasks, so long as they better your days.
