2020 - Cheers to the New Year AND the Old You

Happy New Year to 2020! You made it!! I read a picture shared on Instagram yesterday that says - “A toast to the old you: If you feel inspired to use the new year to help you reset or change habits: great. And yet: The old you has survived every terrible day, every hard thing, every awful circumstance, and every heartbreak you’ve ever felt. The old you is a FIGHTER, and that’s worth celebrating.”

It cheered on YES!! I’m not one that is big for making New Year’s Resolutions. Mostly because it’s just a to do list for the first week or two of the new year until it gets shoved to the bottom of the priorities. Sorry, not sorry. That’s the sassy in me! What I am big on, is often reflecting on the hardships and the victories of the year/quarter/month/week. I like asking myself and my family, what went well? What did we overcome? How can we make it better? My husband Will and I have this thing with our boys, who are now teenagers, where we daily ask: What was the best thing that happened to you today? This can be difficult on kids to think about this after a long day as school, but if you ask open-ended questions with follow up questions for details, you tend to get them to open up to you. More listening and less talking is key with getting young people, or really any person, to open up. I personally like asking their opinion, not that it runs our household but since they are a part of it, I want to know what everyone is feeling. My husband and I do this in private as well. This makes it really enlightening to know our strengths and areas needing improvement. I am a firm believer in making changes that will benefit us all in the long run. Life without growth is death, and I want to live!

That being said, even though at each new year we all tend to want to let the drama stay back in the prior year, yet it’s a good reminder to know that person in you MADE IT. You are strong even in your weakness. You are a victor in your victory. You are free because your are a freedom planner. Have goals, revisit them often, and tweak as necessary if you want to better your life. Change only occurs when we make a plan of action and follow up on it. The old you and the new you make you who you are. Love them both, and be proud of them both!!!

Happy New Year!

Until next time ~ Nikki Smith

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