New Year. Same Me.
01.07.18
Hi Friend,
Happy 2018. So here we are. I’ve done some reflecting and have a number of plans for the new year. One, which I love, inspired by the Gretchen Rubin podcast, is 18 for ’18. It’s a list of 18 things you want to do this year. For me, this is 18 little steps I could take to doing more things I want and creating more joyful experiences. It’s stuff like trying one spin class, or going to Roosevelt Island. Small stuff, yes, but something that will give me new experiences.
Being the strategist that I am, I’ve been building a framework for how I want to address 2018. It started out as 4 C’s: Courage, Compassion, Commitment, and Connection. But as I’ve ruminated on it more, I think the two that stand out to me the most are Courage and Compassion. It’s about being courageous enough to be vulnerable and try new things, but also to say no when my heart isn’t in it. This is connected to Compassion: for myself and others. Giving myself the space to quit if I need to, to take it easier on myself for not being 100%, and being forgiving of others when they don’t always meet an expectation. Though this courage and compassion, I figure 2018 is ready to be a grand year.
So, here we go.
1. 8 Things That Mattered (To Me) in 2017
I decided to do something I haven’t done in a while and write a reflection on the year. Although it’s a bit late, the exercise helped me to understand the last year better through a few things that ended up sticking in my memory this last year, and why they mattered. I hope you enjoy.
Read It
2. Paradoxes of Happiness
I fell in love with this short blog post from Gretchen Rubin over break and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. She addresses the challenge that by being yourself you won’t be able to be the person you’re not. Accepting that you won’t ever be the great adventurer (because it’s just not you) can still engender sadness. I found the whole piece spot on and it profoundly reshaped the way I think of the idea of acceptance and happiness.
Read It
3) Life Is Not A Journey
At four minutes long, this illustrated speech packs a hell of a punch. I love the way that Watts completely rethinks the way many of us look at life through the lens of music. We don’t live for the final chord, we live for the performance…the dance. It’s profoundly moving.
