by Blake Howard

As January and the new year are approaching this is a time of a lot of self-reflection for many people. We will soon see social media flooded with posts of New Year's Resolutions and “New Year, New Me”. With the start of a new year many people take it as an opportunity to start over or to recommit to personal goals and dreams.  For some this may be a good motivator and that is great if it works out that way. For others it can feel like a lot of pressure. This pressure comes right after a sometimes very stressful holiday season, to pick oneself up and achieve something great. Each person deserves whatever amount of time that they need to recover and reconnect with themself. Although the holidays are thought of by many as a relaxing and joyous time with family, this is simply not the case for all people. It is important to remember that for many of us this can be a time of extreme loneliness, pain, or heartbreak. In a very short amount of time it can be hard to be able to entirely switch gears and embark on a new goal. It is okay, and needed, to give ourselves some compassion. 

We have a choice in this, if we do not want to make New Year's resolutions that is okay. It is also great and inspiring if we choose to take this transition as a time to propel forward and motivate ourselves. If we choose to partake in the resolution setting we may put immense pressure on ourselves to succeed. If we fail to succeed, it can cause many different feelings. We may feel inferior, like a failure, guilt, or self doubt. It is important that rather you choose to partake in this traditional goal setting or not, that we remember to engage in self-care and to give ourselves grace. We may slip on our goals or may not be ready to commit to a new goal. It may be helpful to take a moment to assess where our capacity is at. How much bandwidth do we currently have? Is it the right time for me to take on a new task? Do I feel passionate about this new goal? All of these questions can help us better approach this time of the New Year. Being aware of what we can use for self-care is also so important, what fills you up? How does your body feel rested and taken care of? When do you need a break?. Having these coping tools can help us be able to sit with times of overwhelm.. 

The other important thing to keep in mind about the “exciting” time of the New Year is that this is a huge transition. 2022 was not an easy year by any means. We navigated (and still are) through a global pandemic, there have been many political changes and shocks to our system. There has been new war, hate, rights being taken away, and oppression. It is okay to take time to grieve for all of the things that we have lost and been through this year. A new year brings a sense of momentum for new things and hopes for a brighter future. It can also feel incredibly daunting in the current climate that we live in. How do we possibly process an entire year and work through feelings of grief when we still have to move through daily life. While the hope is that everyone can experience some time of relief, hope, and excitement; we must also create space for the harder feelings that may come up. This can be a very exciting and encouraging time, and we hope for the ability to enjoy it. At the end of the day, it will be a new year but we still are the same humans who have just made it through a very hard year.  Just know that if you are struggling or need some extra support that there is community and support at NCTP.