It’s absurd to think that some arbitrary date can change everything. As if somehow we count down to midnight on December 31st … and, BAM we are a brand new person or a better version of ourselves.
We tend to think that there is some magic switch that completely alters our current reality and changes our lives.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn’t work this way. And, this perspective is precisely what jacks most people up when entering the New Year, and what ultimately sets them up to fail.
Think about it for a moment, how many ways do we amplify the pressure of being more, doing more, having more, especially when we are presented with the incoming new year?
Yet, the reality for most of us is that we are coming off intense energy, emotions, and exhaustion. The holidays, for starters, can be challenging for a variety of reasons: family dynamics, financial instability or overspending, grieving of loss ones, or a plethora of others things. Not to mention, for business owners and leaders, we are trying to close out our year, and get all our ducks for the previous year in a row.
Needless to say, there’s a lot going on at the end of the year typically. And, let’s be honest … 2023 was a bit if a shitshow. It was tough.
So, why do we insist that on jumping right back into the swing of things, getting back on the horse, and expecting everything to shift when the clock strikes midnight and we “welcome” in January 1st?
We have this collective mindset that a new chapter starts, a blank page, when often times we are carrying with us the weight of what we haven’t released from the previous year.
Slowing Down to Speed Up
Imagine if instead we allowed ourselves space to ease into the New Year, giving ourselves room and time to decompress the build up of energy (often dense in nature) after the holiday and year-end season.
Imagine if rather than jumping into more chaos we gave ourselves permission to rest, restore, reset, focus, and really play in a space of what we want to call in and be intentional about for the New Year.
I personally tend to follow the Human Design calendar more than that of the Gregorian calendar. Meaning, that the New Year for me is January 23rd (known as the Rave New Year), post the Mercury retrograde “hangover” or shadow period, when the Sun enters Gate 41 (the start of a new solar cycle). In addition, I also look to the energies of the Lunar calendar, which has the New Year falling on February 10th.
I use this period in between the two dates to really dial in my focus, set my intentions, and get aligned AF in how I “be” and what is calling forth.
This period feels much more aligned for me and my energy, as they allow me some space to catch me breath, to ground myself in the energies for incoming new year, and to clear away the density and intense build-up that surged at the end of the previous year.
It allows me a much more deliberate and organic flow versus simply hitting some arbitrary switch on January 1st. I get to be fully immersed in the natural rhythm of the New Year rather than forcing myself to jump in and make stuff happen. It’s gives me space to listen and respond to what wants to present so that I can access the fullness of my creativity and gifts.
New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work
The mantra “New Year, New You” is fraught with additional anxiety and stress. It’s like you are confirming the belief that who you are now is not enough. That somehow you need to be a different person.
When, in actuality, it’s more about being aligned to who you are right now.
When we create these sweeping, massive resolutions as a promise to change everything in our lives at once, we set ourselves up for guaranteed failure. It’s comes from a lack mentality, and it diminishes our own value.
We are missing the opportunity to lean in and get really intentional about what matters most. It’s about the little shifts and focused discipline that gets us different results. Resolutions are only as good as the context from which they were created. However, in most cases, resolutions are just a laundry list of more pressure and “shoulds” we shame all over ourselves.
Just go out onto social media. I don’t know about you, but I’m already exhausted by the frenetic, chaotic energy that so apparent everywhere. It doesn’t matter what platform you’re on, the message is the same: “The time is now. Get your hustle on. This is your year. It’s go time. What are you waiting for? Let’s do this. New Year, New You.”
Blah, blah, blah …
Nothing but an endless barrage of frantic, desperate energy that keeps reinforcing the notion that you are not enough, or that you need to prove something, or this magic pill or product will solve all your problems.
Buy this program. Do this cleanse. Purge everything. Start your next chapter. Clear the deck. Clean the slate.
For the love of Pete, enough already!
I’m so over this idea that there is some all powerful switch we are suppose to flip come the New Year (which, by the way, is an arbitrary, made-up date anyway). That, somehow, by simply creating list of resolutions, you are going to magically change your life.
It doesn’t work this way.
How It Does Work
Transformation and your next level actually begin in the energy of radical acceptance. Meaning, it’s only when you accept and love yourself for who you are and where you are that you can begin to ascend and evolve in your journey and growth. It’s in this acceptance that we know we are enough.
It is from this space of knowing and enoughness that we can truly elevate our presence, amplify our gifts, and accelerate our impact.
Magic does not happen from a place of brokenness, or believing that somehow we are lacking or deficient. But rather, it comes from a place of deep self-love. And, the energy of the first quarter in 2024 is asking us to come back home to ourselves first, to remember who we are.
For there is a build-up of energy coming from our Will (or Ego) Center. This is our opportunity to heal our own self-worth and sense of inherent value. It’s only when we can fully accept ourselves in our truth, and practice deliberate self-love, that our resources are plentiful so that we can do the work we are each actually here to do.
This period of time before Gate 41 moves into a new sun cycle is to recognize our own value. We need space and grace to do this. We need to rest, recharge, reset, and restore. We need to refill our cups and allow them to be in overflow. For it is from this state that we can serve at our highest.
It’s not the time to hustle. It’s a slow moving energy that is bringing us reflection and contemplation so that we can be clear in our intentions for this upcoming year. As the New Moon in Capricorn moves through on January 11th, this is the space to declare our desires and set intentions.
Then, in the period between the new solar cycle (January 23rd) and the new lunar cycle (February 10th), this is when we start to fully active the inspired action aligned with our truth and our clear intentions.
So, this is a calmer space to get ready to call in and manifest the blessings and abundance for the work we’ve already done, and to become aligned AF to become open to the inspired action wanting to prompt us for 2024.
All that being said, it’s a time to slow down to speed up. It’s a time for flow and ease. It’s a time to be gentle and still. The ramp up is coming. This is the time to get yourself prepared for it.
So, I say stop the madness and slow your roll. Do what presents and feels inspired. Rest, play, and just “be” in the meantime. Surrender and trust in knowing that you are fully supported. You will be guided into what’s next.