3 Ways to Re-Visit your New Year’s Resolutions, Take Stock, & Move Forward with New Energy   

Quarter one of 2016 is now part of recorded history. So, how is the year going so far? Have you accomplished what you set out to do? Are your resolutions being implemented full force? Are your goals on track, or already being met? Are you a happier person than you were last year at this time? If you answered yes – congratulations on doing an outstanding job! If not, now that new year’s resolutions are a distant memory, spring is a wonderful time to take stock, re-group, and figure out what needs to change.

To get started, let me have you focus on all the aspects of spring, and the metaphorical ways they intersect with the concept of achieving goals.  Spring is a time of growth: seeds that were planted and dormant over the winter are getting ready to emerge new and full of life. More importantly, these plants, trees, and flowers will be offering (again, metaphorically!) to create something that is greater than them. How?   They share their buds and flowers with the bees and birds; their branches support the leaves; the leaves offer shade; and shade offers escape from the summer sun. The lesson here can be applied to our own aims, in that each element is also part of a greater whole. Likewise, your aims and hopes should ideally aspire to improve and elevate your life in a greater way: for instance, weight loss is not about seeing a different figure on the scale; rather, it’s about bettering your health and possibly living a longer life.

So: take a fresh look at what you planted the beginning of this year in terms of your goals, resolutions, and life review. What on the list is not getting done? If it’s not getting done, and you can mull over why that might be the case — i.e. there’s a good reason for it — perhaps it can be modified (is the diet too drastic?), or eliminated and replaced with something that brings you more joy and inner happiness. It’s never too late to evaluate and reinvigorate your life, so it is more full of inspiration and joy.

Here are a few areas to look at for clearing psychological clutter and thus opening the space for new and exciting opportunities to enter your life:

Goals & Resolutions
Find a time that is quiet and free from distraction, perhaps a half-hour or an hour,  and revisit goals and resolutions you set up early this year. How are you doing with their progress? If you are not making any headway, ask yourself what’s getting in your way.  It’s helpful to evaluate if the particular goal is actually for “you” and really inspires you to take action, or if you made the goal to please someone else.  You will probably find that when the goal is truly for you, it is much easier to make it happen and feel successful upon completion. When the goal is for someone else — yet you think it’s for you – sometimes an unconscious motivational shift makes you drag your feet, and consequently pushing through is a bit more difficult and unfulfilling.

For example, someone may have told you that writing in a journal every day is a practice that really works for them, and you should try it.  Sounds easy enough. You set out to write every day. At first it’s fun, but several days into the process, something else takes priority, and slowly you stop all together. Then, when you evaluate why this goal is challenging, you uncover that journaling is just not appealing to you, even though it works well for others.

This is a goal that can be removed and replaced with a more joyful activity. Just because it works for someone else, doesn’t mean it is a good fit for you. Give yourself permission to change and modify the goals so you are eagerly moving towards a vision that inspires you.

Environmental Clutter
This area encompasses the areas where you work and live in as well as drive. I find when I work on purging all at once, it becomes an overwhelming task. So I have taken to clearing “environmental clutter” two times a year: in spring, and again in the fall, coordinated with a local church’s rummage sale dates.

Then, I work on one area at a time (bedroom, kitchen, bathrooms, car, etc.) and make three piles: keep, sell/donate, trash. When sorting begins, the items go into one of the three piles.  I started using Marie Kondo’s principle of “Does it bring me joy?” and often found, surprisingly, that items that brought joy in the past, no longer fit or bring me true delight.

Another tip I recently came across is a great idea for your wardrobe: at the beginning of a season, hang your clothes hangers all in the same direction. As you wear your clothes, and are returning them to the rack at the end of the day, put the hanger in the opposite direction. At the end of the season, the hangers that are in their original position are items that you didn’t wear — and can now be evaluated for one of the three piles.

An additional exercise, based on Feng Shui, is to declutter and let go of 27 items a day for nine days.  This can be anything from a piece of paper to dishes, socks, make-up, food in the fridge, spices, books or whatever you wish to clear. I found that this breaks clearing clutter into more manageable tasks over a short period of time and can relieve the feeling of being overwhelmed by the task. You might even be surprised and clear out more than originally planned, once you get started.

As you purge items, take time to remember why you acquired it, along with the experiences surrounding it.  Then “thank” the item for serving you in the past, forgive any emotional vampires that you may have associated with it, and set it free. By doing this, you can complete the cycle and relationship with the item, opening space for something better to come in.

Relationship Clearing
This can perhaps be the most challenging to clear. Are there people in your life who drain your energy, are considered “fun-suckers,” or create anxiety when you just think of them? It’s true that some of the people in our lives cannot be avoided, but perhaps they can be limited to an “as- needed” basis. Also, think about who you need to forgive (yourself maybe?), and what steps you can take to make amends. When you unblock your heart, you open yourself to emotional freedom for positive relationships. Letting go of items and people that no longer serve you opens up space for better experiences, and more of what you want to enter your life.

So think: what can you clean out this spring that will open up space for new possibilities, and bring you greater joy?