
I am not a New Year’s Resolution person; however, I respect the spirit of New Year’s Resolutions. New Year’s resolutions are promises for change, made with hope and enthusiasm but sometimes forgotten by February. They reflect aspirations, nudging us toward self-improvement, healthier habits, and personal growth. While the enthusiasm may wane, the spirit of renewal remains, urging us to persist and embrace the chance for positive transformation. This year, I am seeing a trend on social media to list your “Ins and Outs” for 2024. I love this idea as it emphasizes values rather than stringent goals. I decided to sit down and set my ins and outs for 2024.
In:
- Experience-based gifts
- Babysitters
- My hobbies and interests
- Saying yes when it serves me
- Meditation
Out:
- Cheap clothes
- Cheap facial products
- Saying yes when it doesn’t serve me
- Not taking enough PTO
- Going past my social media daily time limits
Starting with my ins, I love experience-based gifts. These days, most of us have too much stuff, and if we need something, we go out and buy it. Some ideas for experience-based gifts include gift cards or tickets to sporting events, museums, zoos, hotels, airlines, restaurants, and spas. Next, babysitters, need I say more? Having a reliable babysitter is worth its weight in gold. For hobbies and interests, I am proud of my activities in 2023. I participated in two book clubs, Indy Moms Hoppy Hour events, wrote for Indianapolis Moms, and spent time with friends. It will be important for me to keep up this momentum and try to not allow mom guilt to sneak in to prevent me from attendance. As for saying yes, I purposefully chose not to use the word “no” in my ins and outs. While I agree many of us say yes too often, this societal shift to saying no carries the risk of saying no too quickly. Saying “yes” opens doors to new experiences and can lead to unexpected opportunities and adventures. My last in of 2024 is meditation. Guided meditation was my saving grace when I experienced anxiety during my pregnancy with my daughter. If you are new to meditation, I recommend starting with guided meditation and with short time frames. It is challenging to learn to clear your mind, and, for me, having another voice to focus on helps me stay in the moment. Meditation can improve stress, sleep, anxiety, and focus. My in list focuses on embracing things that enrich my life, foster growth and resilience, and there are endless possibilities for the positive ripple effect created by my choices.
Moving to my outs, the first of which is buying inexpensive clothes. Clothes shopping as a mid-30s mom has been difficult for many years. Over and over, I have purchased clothes online and returned most of the pieces. I have tried multiple of the clothing boxes where you pay a styling fee, and they send you five things to try on, and I haven’t been impressed. Filling my closet with inexpensive clothes that don’t fit or look how I want, is not serving me. In 2024, I will focus on higher-quality pieces and start to build my wardrobe back to where it needs to be. Speaking of inexpensive products, low-quality facial care is out. I struggle with acne due to my PCOS, and it’s been quite a journey to get to where I am now. Taking guesses on what is right for your skin is out, and sunscreen and moisturizer are in. For my next out, I want to look at yes to open more doors, but I still need to protect my peace and evaluate if that opportunity serves me well. Next is my biggest shame of 2023. In 2023, my company changed to an unlimited PTO policy, and I became part of the statistic that people with unlimited PTO take less PTO. I am committed to not letting that happen again in 2024. My last out for 2024 is time spent on social media. In 2023, I started using daily time limit notifications at 60 minutes spent on social media apps. Some days, I override the notification, and other days, I don’t. For 2024, I’m re-committing to not overriding the notification and sticking to that boundary.
I do not set New Year’s resolutions because they don’t magically transform who we are, but there is a place for using resolutions as a canvas for introspection. The new year prompts us to reassess priorities, values, and goals. It’s not about becoming an entirely new self, but about refining and realigning. The new year should not be a complete overhaul; rather, it’s a canvas inviting us to adjust the picture of our lives to what resonates authentically within us.