2018: A New Beginning

Happy New Year! I hope you are excited about starting this New 2018.

I believe most people at the beginning of a New Year, at least think of the goals they want to achieve during the next twelve months and write them down (or not). Goals are still a good idea, mostly because they give us direction, purpose and a way to measure progress.

Regardless whether we write them in a new journal or on a paper napkin, they are very important resolutions we each decide on. With just a quick look we know that some of them probably won’t take up too much time or energy to fulfill. We all love easy! Now there will be other goals on your list that might require incredible amounts of focus, intention and sacrifice to fulfill. Yes of course! I was almost wishing you had at least a couple of those for 2018.

Deciding on our goals allows us to dream, to be hopeful, to think: “this might be the year!” Some of the hardest goals on your list will be the ones that give you the deepest satisfaction once you’ve reached them. Seriously, easy doesn’t do it!

In my book “Life is Worth Getting Better” I write about a very important January in my life: that was the beginning of 2013. On that dark January in England, I had decided to get better for good from Depression, Anxiety and Bipolar II. Not until the next panic attack or until my meds needed adjusting. Again! I really wanted to get better forever. It was indeed a tall order!

I write in Chapter 13: A New Beginning “ In January, we came back from Argentina. I continued my treatment at the hospital. I went back to my full week of therapy sessions. It felt like a job. It was my day job. I was beside myself with excitement that 2013 was a brand- new year!

Does a new year do that for you? 2013 was only a couple of days old, but I could already feel the richness of a new start. I can’t explain it. There’s something about a new year that brings the hope of: “Maybe this is the year I will be able to ____.” What would your “blank” say?

There is so much expectancy when the calendar changes. It holds a promise of something you’ve wanted to do, learn, maybe visit, or accomplish. There was no need to write down my 2013 goals. I had them highlighted on my heart.

My New Year’s resolution was simple to say and hard to do: I just wanted to get well.”

I go on to describe in my book the amount of therapy hours at the Hospital, the frustration of wanting to see results sooner than what I was experiencing, plus the ton of things I had to do to get better. I’ll be honest: It wasn’t easy. Some days I almost died of boredom! And believe it or not, after putting in all that effort when the year was out, I still hadn’t finished my treatment! But can I tell you, that even if I wasn’t 100% done getting better, I was way more advanced than when I started in January? Mediocre, half-baked results get done pretty quickly, but the best results always take longer. Always.

As I was mentioning above, the kind of sacrificial goals we set turn out to be the most worthwhile. The ones when we get completely -no meds-better, when we lose the weight permanently, when we quit the addiction, when we aim for a new beginning and we actually get it. When we try yet again only that this time, it actually works out!

I want to wish you three things this New Year:

I’ve already wished you a Happy New Year. I hope it’s successful, purposeful and memorable.

My second wish for you is: Don’t sell yourself short.

I know you can do what you need to do. You can achieve what you’re hoping to do. You are stronger than what you think you are!

-Also, don’t forget to ask God to help you reach your goals. Tell Him your plans. He wants to bless you and help you! It says in God’s Word: “Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.” (Psalms 37:5)

My third wish for you: Run your own race.

Don’t compare what you’re doing in real life with what others are just posting on social media. We tend to compare the inside of our life with how other people’s life looks from the outside. Just focus on your goals and on your own progress. You'll do just fine!

I hope you know that I’m rooting for you to succeed in 2018!

Wishing you all the best!

Maria

Author: “Life is Worth Getting Better”