It’s the first day of 2022, Happy New Year everybody!
2021 was not a good year for me, physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially. After losing more close family during the year, my grief was so intense, I lost interest in the things that I loved and that kept me going.
I don’t remember the number of times that I sat down to write but couldn’t put the words together, or went shopping with the intention of cooking but ended up with a fridge full of food that is nearing or past its best before date, but end up opting for a takeaway instead.
I have spent so many months trying to fix things, overthinking a lot of stuff, and kicking myself for the things that I feel I could have done better, which didn’t do much to help with my mental health.
As always, I have a tendency of being really hard on myself, and as we were approaching the year, I spent some time in quiet reflection and decided that I was not going to be listing out any unrealistic new year’s resolutions but that I would start by being kind to myself and not commit myself to timelines which make me anxious when left incomplete.
From time to time, I enjoy reading quotes and get a lot of inspiration from the ones that seem to relate to me depending on how I am feeling at the moment so when I saw this one “No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.” – Buddha
For me, the past does not date back to years, it can be a week or a couple of days but it can set me back for months on end. My hope is to try to conquer each day that I wake and focus on the small victories which would be in the way of:
- prioritising a shower, and tidying up personal space before undertaking any daily tasks.
- folding the laundry and putting it away instead of leaving it in the basket until it creases.
- checking and responding to emails, and emptying the junk mail so that I won’t have 10 000 of them to clear.
- making sure that bills are paid before they start piling up.
- reading something and writing even a few lines so that I won’t get out of sync
- have small manageable to-do lists of tasks for each day
- learn to identify and avoid my triggers to depression and seek support.
- celebrating small wins, which includes being kind to myself if I don’t manage to tick all the boxes, knowing that I have a chance to start over the next day.
With the emerging coronavirus variants, it is still very important that we continue wearing our masks, avoiding crowds, maintaining social distancing, and isolating when we are feeling under the weather, have symptoms, or have tested positive.
Stay safe and have a fruitful, healthy 2022, and remember that no matter how hard the past is, you can always begin again.