As the Earth completed yet another revolution around the Sun, celebrations gave way to resolutions and like every year, cash registers in health clubs began to go ka-ching! In an era where we are starting to have more disposable income than will power, voting with our wallets doesn’t necessarily mean we always follow through! So how useful are resolutions and are they really the best way to drive the sustainable transformation that we all desire?
The first step to a transformation is acknowledging the status quo, taking a good hard look at it, and critically evaluating where it puts us versus where we want to be. Once the source and the destination are clear, a plan can start to take shape. Destinations, be they monetary or personal, should always be carefully chosen, rather than through peer pressure or sheerly because that’s where the herd is headed.
Longer-term goals of course take more time, so whilst it may be fashionable and more convenient to have new resolutions each year, know that real transformation often comes from keeping at it until the goal is in sight. It’s always nice to compliment your longer-term goals with something new, like a hobby, to add a bit of variety and help develop a previously unexplored facet of yourself.
At the same time, it’s important to critically evaluate your goals and the returns vs efforts at regular milestones. Sometimes what we wanted a couple of years ago no longer appeals to us, or the wisdom that we’re swimming upstream against an impossible current dawns upon us. We must have the courage to cut our losses and recalibrate, where we see no real progress or potential future benefit.
There are always going to be things that didn’t go the way we’d hoped, and whilst it's important to acknowledge them, if we obsess about them they start to weigh us down and hold us back from making meaningful progress. Operating from a space of centredness and calm helps us to navigate these choppy waters, whilst still moving towards our true North. Meditating on a card like the 6 of Swords from the Rider-Waite Tarot can help us envision this transition, especially when progress is slow and the things seem challenging.
This new year is a really useful marker, in that it helps you put the past in perspective and use the lessons learnt to propel yourself towards the future you desire. So as you chart your course for 2024, take some time to assess the year that was, give things the closure they deserve, and then with the confidence that only the best will happen to you, turn the page!
