Happy New Year Monarch Fam!
I hope the holiday season treated you well and you were able to get some much needed, and very much deserved rest and relaxation! With 2024 finally behind us it’s time to look forward to the new year. I know this can often be daunting, especially if you have no real goals set for the new year, or anything in particular that you are looking forward to, but I’m here to let you know that it doesn’t have to be.
Trust me, I get it. I use to be that person that couldn’t wait to the end the current year but was super anxious to start the new year. I’m the type of person who tends to put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve things, especially specific goals that I set, and when that doesn’t happen, I feel like a failure.
Such a silly idea I know but I’m only human!
Here’s the thing. I no longer wanted to subscribe to the whole new year’s resolution idea, and I never was able to get on board with the whole new year new me trend. Instead, last year what I ended up doing was adopting the idea of new year new focus, essentially setting my mindset to focusing on one overall goal. One specific transformation that would ultimately be the driving force for the next chapter in my life.
Here’s how I went about it.
New Year New Focus Mindset
What’s the deal with this whole new year new focus mindset? Well, believe it or not it’s as simple and literal as it sounds. With the new year slowly unrolling I’ve been spending the past 10 days being very intentional about committing to my focus for the year. This focus is centered around committing to a lifestyle change, which requires me to be very intentional about all the decisions I make on a daily basis.
Here’s the breakdown of this mindset formula.
Step 1: Identify your focus
The first thing you need to do is figure out what your overall focus is. What lifestyle change are you essentially seeking? What is the transformation you are ultimately after?
For me, this was officially adopting a vegan lifestyle. Being vegan is something that I have always wanted to give a try and have never had the education, resources, confidence, or support to do so. However, I spent the last 6 months of the previous year preparing myself for this lifestyle change which I am committing to in the new year.
This is the foundation of it all. This is what is going to give you clarity about how you are going to navigate this change for an entire year. This is where the intentionality of your focus comes to life.
Step 2: Understand your why
Of course, there can be no purposeful meaning behind such a change if there is no specific reason as to why you want it. Understanding your why behind your focus will help you accomplish two major things.
One, it will help you create a personal meaning behind it so that when temptation arises for you to go back to your old ways, you have that reminder of what set you on this path to begin with. This is a very simple way to hold yourself accountable and be intentional with every decision that you make.
Two, understanding your why will serve as a reinforcer for the decisions you are making. This is important because others who may not agree with your lifestyle change, or even understand why you are making this change, are going to challenge and question your every decision very often. If you know your why it will be easier to “defend” your reasoning. This will also make it easier for you to ignore the negativity, confusion, and sometimes even misleading support of others.
I mean what’s the point of committing to something if it does not hold any valuable weight to it? This is where your personal why for your lifestyle change will give you power and confidence to commit to it.
Step 3: Take it one day at a time
Lastly, don’t put any pressure on yourself to be successful right off the back. I know this is easier said than done, but I’m telling you this from experience. When we put pressure on ourselves to be successful, we suck the fun out of the experience. Who wants to be a fun sucker? Not me and definitely not you!
Committing to a lifestyle change should be exciting and something you are looking forward to doing. In order to achieve that feeling you have to understand that you have to take it one day at a time. You are making room for all the positive changes that are waiting to be welcomed into your life. You are creating space for your transformation to unfold.
This is not something that will be accomplished overnight, in a month, or even at six months. This is something that will require time and patience. Give yourself at least a year to see your transformation through, and during that year take the whole experience one day at a time. Truly cherish and value the lessons you are learning with each new experience, and remain open and optimistic for what’s to come.
Conclusion
All in all, have fun! It’s great to want something better for yourself with the welcoming of a new year. It’s inspiring, motivating, and challenging in the most beautiful way possible. However, this can sometimes be met with a lot of stress, anxiety, confusion, and fear. Which is completely normal.
However, I don’t want you to focus on these emotions. Focus on the positive emotions, your reasoning, and accomplishing this lifestyle change in bite size pieces. Focus on having fun while on the journey!
I want to also acknowledge that my personal lifestyle change, my focus for the year, does not mean I don’t’ have other goals that I would like to achieve throughout the year, because I do. However, my main focus, the main thing I will be holding myself accountable for this year, is the intentional lifestyle transformation that I am seeking.
If you do decide to take this path for the new year, don’t feel as though you can’t set any other goals to achieve because you most certainly can! Just make sure your main focus is whatever lifestyle change you are seeking.
If you are someone who tends to struggle with committing to your goals throughout the year, this is a mindset shift that I highly encourage you to take part in. Don’t go into this new year simply seeking small little changes that are going to be easy and very quick for you to achieve, or goals that are going to require longer than a year to see success with (within reason anyway).
Instead, enter this new year with the mindset of changing your life for the better. Consider the new year new focus mindset, maybe even give it a try, and together let’s watch you undergo your transformation.
Love and Light,
Kimora