Happy New Year!
Do you get excited by the fresh start the new year offers? Or do you see it as sort of arbitrary – really just another day? If you fall into the former camp, you probably enjoy making New Year’s resolutions, coming up with a one-word theme for the new year, or using the start of a new year as motivation to “clean house” in different aspects of your life. If you are in the latter camp, you probably say “meh” to all that. I have to admit that usually I’m in the first group. For the last two years I came up with one-word themes for my year (“Create” for 2020 and “Tend” for 2021) and compiled “20 for 2020” and “21 for 2021” lists of things I wanted to do each year. I love to put away all of the Christmas decorations on January 1st, do a deep clean of my house (well, sort of) and reorganize my closet. The start of the new year always feels shiny and full of potential for me.
This year I’ve been trying very hard to feel it, to get excited about what 2022 might hold for me, but “meh” has been winning out, I’m afraid. I think it’s partially due to Covid fatigue. Omicron is going through Ohio like wildfire. I’m working from home again, and I’m of two minds about that. I am very glad that my employer is responsible and cares about our health. But I grew to love working back in the office, particularly for the separation of “Work Michelle” and “Home Michelle” that it gave me, a la George Costanza – remember his worlds colliding theory? This second time around of working from home I definitely feel like my worlds are colliding.
Having said that, I refused to have “Meh” be my theme for 2022! So, I dug deeper, reading a variety of articles about the concept of the one-word theme, hoping to find some inspiration. I realized that part of what was holding me back was the fact that I am just feeling so emotionally fatigued and the idea of some theme that I have to manifest in my life just made me want to go to bed and pull the covers over my head. But then I came across this line in an article on the one-word theme: “If you want to choose a theme for 2022, start by asking a simple question: What’s the theme I need the most right now — based on what happened in 2021?”
Upon reading that sentence, I knew the answer instantly – my one-word theme for 2022 will be Joy.
Next up – my “22 for 2022” list.
Love,
Michelle xoxo