A new year is something that begins with creating resolutions, goals for the future, and brings a renewed sense of energy and motivation. One consistency through each new year that I have observed, is the idea on everyone’s mind: “What can change look like for me this year?”. Desired change is something that feels exciting and hopeful. These goals are often set with the best intentions and the aspirations to be even greater than you were last year. Unexpected change often creates a different outcome, mentally, behaviorally, and emotionally. When change is unexpected it tends to create stress, overwhelm, pressure, and hardship. The ways in which we handle that unexpected change is essential to developing a stronger sense of well-being.
At the start of 2024, I had expectations and a set plan for what my year would have looked like. As I moved through the year, there were many unexpected changes that brought adversity, grief, challenge, and created a different outcome than what I had expected. The more shifts that occurred throughout my year, the more I found myself judging where I was versus where I had wanted to be. I became caught up with how my reality was so different from my expectations. I found myself focusing on my “shortcomings”, instead of on all of the great things that I had learned about myself, and appreciating the resilience it took to get through the pain that this past year brought me.
When a person has focused so much on the expectations they’ve set for them self, there is unnecessary pressure put on the goal or outcome they had in mind. There is a tendency, as humans, to focus on what wasn’t achieved, instead of acknowledging the strength that it took to overcome the barriers that got in the way of achieving the set goal.
The biggest lesson I learned in 2024 is: what will be, will be. Change is not always expected or hoped for, but it is something that happens in life. The most important reminder that we can give ourselves is that change can bring incredible knowledge about how resilient we are, what our capabilities can be, and allows us to develop a deeper understanding of Self. I now know, I am able to embrace all of the unexpected change that the New Year may bring, and can understand the ways in which to acknowledge my strength, instead of focusing on what may not have been achieved.
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