MoMo Pulliam currently serves as the association's Training Director. She shares her thoughts on the coming new year.
Typically, I wait until the end of January to put my Christmas decorations away (mostly because it normally takes me until mid-December to put them up!) but this past weekend I got a burst of energy and took everything down. Even though they were up for only a handful of weeks, our home looks like a totally new space! Our square footage hasn’t changed, no pieces of furniture moved, but VOILA! – it feels like our home got a total refresh!
Adding the tree made our living room feel warm and inviting, and I love that. Removing it made the same space feel open and decluttered, and I love that, too. Same goes for the décor in the bathrooms and the kitchen and beyond. If you celebrate (and decorate for) Christmas, or any other holiday, you’ve likely experienced a similar perspective shift. How curious that such a small (and short-lived) change can make such a difference!
2021 was a year FULL of change for me; maybe it was for you, too. I had handfuls of good, positive, exciting change, but also more than enough crunchy, hard, I’m-so-over-it-I-just-don’t-really-care-anymore change. All of this change, both good and challenging, has impacted by perspective – my outlook.
In this new year, I’m intrigued by what an emotional and mental perspective shift could bring; just like my living room, I think it’s time to “put some things away.” I’m eager to feel the “Oh, wow! Everything looks so NEW!” part.*
What thought or idea might I adopt in this new year that would help me see or experience things in a new way? And what might I remove from my perspective that’s keeping things “cluttered”? I’m not talking about New Year’s Resolutions here (though if you’re a fan, have at it). Instead, I’m considering the mental shifts I can make that will benefit me (and others) in 2022. To that end, I’m committing to asking some questions that may support these shifts. I’ll list some of them below, so if you’re also curious, you can join me in reflecting.
Blessings on your 2022, my friends. Be kind to yourself and to others. And I hope that you experience the gift of adding and taking away – so simple, but so impactful.
- If I look at the bigger picture, does my perspective change? What if I look at the smaller picture?
- What evidence do I have that what I believe/feel is really true? What evidence do I have that it’s not?
- How do things shift if I use the words “I get to” instead of “I have to”?
- How does this experience compare to what I expected? Was that expectation helpful?
- What’s something small that I could do differently (morning routine, new recipe, walking route, etc.) to keep my brain open to new things?
*A moment of reality here, if you’ve read this far…there is, of course, a part of my brain that doesn’t want anything-to-ever-change-ever-again-thank-you-very-much. We can crave a refresh/reset AND also desire to hold tight to what we know – to what is comfortable and familiar. It’s okay to feel both ways. (BTW, fully aware that this asterisk may be more for me than for you – ha!)