“Jump The Hurdle! It’s Okay If You Fall.”

Are you standing in the way of your own goals?

Ah, it’s Thursday December 31, 2020. The last day of this [wretched] [terrible] [draining] [scary] [perfect] [eye-opening] [great] [long] [whatever adjective you choose] year! I don’t know what adjective I’d use to describe 2020, maybe “inevitable.” I had some ups and downs in this year. Some doors open and some close. Some opportunities gained and moments missed. Some laughable and some teachable moments. But in hindsight, everything that occurred this year was meant to occur — it was the inevitable unfolding.

A couple of weeks ago I shared my top 20 highlights from 2020 (#19 “visited home 4 times” didn’t occur. I didn’t make it home for Christmas, but I’ll talk more about that in next week’s post…). I shared how when the pandemic hit I immediately viewed my vision board as a failure and a joke. When I looked back over how my year unfolded, however, I was able to connect items on my vision board to my 2020. It might not have unfolded how I expected, but every moment was inevitable.

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So now we are all preparing for 2021! I know sooo many of us just KNOW that 2021 will be better than 2020 just because it’s not “2020” anymore. Changing that last 0 to a 1 will automatically flip our current circumstances around and our lives will be immediately better, right?! Sorry to break it to you all, it just doesn’t happen like that. I know the New Year is a mark of time we all use. And if we’re goal-setters, it’s a deadline for that year’s achievements. But honestly yall, Covid-19 has 19 at the end because it began in 2019. We didn’t see it coming and we definitely didn’t see it affecting our 2020 like it did. And the pandemic and nation lockdown began in March. Less than 3 months into the new year. January 1st does bring with it a sense of freshness, newness, and reset. But on January 1, 2021, Covid will not be gone, and I am sure the “2020 problems” you dealt with will not automatically vanish. BUT, I am here to tell you that since you endured those 2020 problems, you are equipped to handle any problem that might arise. So don’t let that deter you from setting goals and creating plans to achieve them in the New Year!

January 1st brings with it a sense of freshness, newness, and reset.

What do you want to achieve this year? What did you learn about yourself (or your circle) in 2020 that you wish to change or improve in 2021? What do you want to let go of in this new year? What are your 2021 resolutions?! (Not rhetorical questions! Drop your answers in the comments!) When I used to think of resolutions, I used to think of checklist items like “pay off my credit cards,” “go visit my friend in X city,” “practice my violin X minutes a day…” But then I realized that sometimes those resolutions have less meaning and they’re just me thinking of really cool things I can begin just because I am preparing to step into a new year. Don’t get me wrong, those kinds of resolutions are awesome (and I need to get those credit cards paid off lol)! No better time than January 1st to set those kinds of year-long to-do lists. But for me, the way 2020 has opened my eyes to a lot of things about myself, I am approaching my 2021 resolutions in a more fluid way. My resolutions are still specific and are things I can track to see if I’m completing them, but they’re not as fixed as “hit the gym 3 days a week.” Here are some of my 2021 resolutions…

*Record scratch* Wait wait wait. Before I share any resolutions with you all, I need to share my words for 2021! What are these words you ask? Well my good friend Devin introduced me to these words for the new year. Sometimes he doesn’t set goals or resolutions, but more so prays on a word or phrase that will guide him in the new year. Then everything he begins or accomplishes that year should be in furtherance of those words in some way. The first time I did this was in 2020. My words for 2020 were “Focus + Follow-through.” I seemed to always have my hand in so many jars, that I felt I wasn’t devoting my full attention to those items and wasn’t executing them in excellence. Focus + Follow-through meant whatever I began, I would focus on and follow-through to its completion. I think I applied those words in 2020 and was more deliberate and intentional in my actions!

Clarity: the quality of being certain or definite. Prosperity: the condition of being successful. An important thing to note is I started with prayer before I came up with my words for 2021. As you noticed in some of my prior blog posts, 2020 was full of a lot of reflection for me. To some people, I may seem to “have it all together,” but in reality, I deal with a lot of self-criticism, comparison, and self-doubt. But with all of the reflecting I did, I was able to identify what was important to me and why it was important to me. I can now have a clearer approach to life and work towards being prosperous!

Now, here are a few of my 2021 resolutions:

• Use my daily planner to help stay organized & prioritize my work and things I want and need to accomplish. With all of the organizations I am a part of, this will help me execute each task thoroughly and be certain as to why I am completing that task.
• Have one weekend (48 hours) per month free from social media. I randomly chose to do this a few weeks ago, and it was so liberating! As a new blogger and new influencer, I felt I needed to be on social media daily and establish a constant presence. From what I hear, that’s totally true to become successful in this line of work, but I also need to carve out time for myself and my personal well-being in order to be prosperous in anything.
• Make reading a part of my nightly routine. A couple of years ago I joined a book club so I can read more. I fell off recently and I know how valuable books are to our lives and what we want to achieve. Even if it’s 15 minutes, I want to add reading a book to my nightly routine. I already started a list of good books to read!

Of course, keeping up with this blog and making it better is on the list! To be honest, starting a blog was nowhere on my 2020 vision board. But, a little confession: starting a blog was actually on my list of 2016 resolutions!

When I got my new iPhone in November, I was clearing out my old Android and read through my old notes. That’s where I remembered that I once thought about starting a blog, but never did! I cannot remember why I never embarked on this journey back then (probably fear), all I know is that I was meant to start this blog in October 2020.

So, I’ll ask you again: are you standing in the way of your own goals?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! May this year bring you nothing but peace and blessings!

“Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.” — Job 8:7, NIV.

Moni Jay, Off the Record