A Year Without Reinvention

I know there are many people who are ready to begin this new year.  For many, 2025 was a hard year.  This past year has not been one of those particularly hard ones for me.  Of course, like all years it had its challenges and a few obstacles that had to be manipulated, but relatively speaking, it was filled with more peace than hard.

However, I know the feeling of truly welcoming a new year with the hopes of something better.  My past few years have had losses, chaos, indecision, fear. There has been a big letting go of what I thought my life would be, starting over, pivoting and re-learning ways to live this life.  This past year was almost like a settling in.  A relief.  This past year helped me learn to accept changes, appreciate new opportunities rather than resenting them, and mainly, embrace more contentment.

 Yesterday I looked back at my journal to see how I started 2025 and compare that with how I feel now.  I had challenged myself to look for “Tiny Miracles” every day.  And I did.  I had shared that and, as always, it helped keep me accountable.  It was a good practice.  There were many days that looking for those little moments, making those small observations and letting them make me smile created the change for the day.  When I was lacking my old energy and my old optimism, or feeling that funk, learning to look for and appreciate all the good around me honestly gave me a boost each day.  Looking back now, and really thinking about it, I see it as a healing practice.  One I didn’t realize I needed, but it really worked its magic. 

 I am not writing out big goals or intentions this year.  I feel like that was a lot of the old me who was constantly trying to “one up” myself.  The me that was always striving to do more and be more.  That’s not to say I don’t have things to accomplish and look forward to.  I think we all need to know our own purpose, our “why” and to always have something to look forward to, big and small.    

Many of my older goals or intentions revolved around some form of health and wellness.  In the past, I spent so much time stressing about ways to improve myself – there was always some form of goal to lose weight, be even healthier, start over with some new program or rigid plan and, finally, this year I have moved on and away from worrying about my body.  You may have read some of those old posts of mine.  It’s not that they were not good or productive for where I was at the time.  I think many of us have periods of time when we all  needed a “reboot” or “reset”, especially after the Holiday.  And if you do, then I totally get it and it can be a great time to start fresh and regain your healthy habits.  I think, for me, after about 58 years of living with my body, its ins and outs, its good, bad and ugly (so to speak), I am tired of fighting it.  I appreciate it and am thrilled with what it allows me to do. I don’t need to punish it or hate on it or obsess over it.  I don’t need to compare it to others or even my younger self.  I can nurture it with good food that is generally “whole” and not feel guilty when there is a treat involved.  So, that was a bit of a confession wasn’t it?  Anyway, I’ll continue to be obsessed with health and wellness and taking care of myself and sharing that passion with others, but I will no longer be obsessed with trying to beat myself up.

I am looking to continue many of the same things I tried to focus on in 2025.  I did not spend as much time and energy on the creative as I would have liked.  I got distracted and outside work limited my space. But, if I am honest, I also spent more time consuming which is a huge drain on creativity and the mental space we need for our imagination and ideas.  I hope to show up here more in the new year.  I hope to show up in real spaces more, with real people, in church, in hobbies, and in ways that continue to get me out of my comfort zone. 

This year I am not looking to reinvent myself.  I’ve learned to move forward and I’ve learned resilience.  I feel different moving into this new year.  More at peace.  More content.

What about you?  What if this new year is not about “starting over”, “rebooting” or becoming someone new? Perhaps you’ve already been there and done that.  You’ve come through on the other side and here you are. 

I used to think that it all had to be big and bright.  While I do know, and I’ve said many times,  that we all have this one big, beautiful life and it is important to embrace it and to live our gifts.  However, I think that maybe it is less about continuing  to run out the year, (or years) filling it with all the big shiny mountain top moments and maybe it’s more about what is right here, every day, and being faithful in the here and now, and in the gift of the days, relishing what has become of our life, what we have created and learning contentment right here.

If you are still with me, that is the point of this.  I’ve come to love the word contentment and have worked to get to this place.  This is what I want to take into 2026.