Pull Up Your Sleeves and Kick-Start the Year

Is it already time?

It´s frosty cold here in Austria; the outside temperatures have dropped under the freezing point and we made ourselves very comfortable in our warm wooden home with an amazing view over the snowy mountains. Three long weeks it has been our home already and we didn´t do much more than celebrating Christmas with the family, cooking together and playing with the kids. It was a time to rest and a time to renew. Now, as the year has come to an end and the fresh January energy is rising, I feel a little doubtful. Is it really time to restart? What are my plans and ideas for 2021? Can I resist the warmth of our soft couch and bring myself back to work? The answer is YES: of course, I can! NOW is the time to pull up the sleeves and kick-start the year.

“Don´t look back and don´t look down.”

Says renewed author Steven Pressfield in his weekly blog.

I think this is a perfect quote to end the year and get ourselves a fresh start for 2021.

2020 has been a hell of a ride and we all suffered to a certain instant under the impacts of the COVID pandemic. Nothing was normal in this year; nothing has happened as planned. And yet we all had our learnings and lessons during this time and even though the virus still has a grip at us, it´s time to let go and give ourselves a fresh start. We can´t look back to think about how the year had been without the virus. And we can´t look down and allow negative thoughts of failure, loss and illness creep into our minds.

2021 is not only the year, where many countries start a global vaccination campaign, but for each one of us a chance to straighten our backs, pull up the sleeves and look ahead with a cheerful smile.

Give January a fresh start

Grab a pen and paper and write down at least 5 bullet points of what you want to achieve in 2021. And with that, I don´t mean to list all the professional achievements you plan to accomplish, but instead write down your personal goals on how you can fill your life with more joy and long-lasting happiness. For example:

• How do I want to spend time with my family?
• What are the things I am grateful for in my life?
• How can I implement more self-care in my life?
• In which areas can I help others through my knowledge and passion?
• How can I improve my daily routine to fully support my personal goals?

_{Share your Goals} 

This is the perfect time of the year to not only manifest professional objectives but most notably to define your personal goals and get clear on how you want to show up in the world.

In January 202o I created this blog (“Letters to the Universe“) to write about my travel adventures, to share my deep insights and learnings on how a yogic way of life can lead to more fulfillment and joy and finally to further explore my creativity. It was sometimes hard to find the right topic each week, but I kept going, only because I had planned on not giving up for the course of year.

Furthermore, I had realized, how much it helped to dive deeper into my creativity and share my thoughts with you. In writing about the topics, which deeply affect me, I learned to structure my thoughts and fight back resistance (“It’s only a tiny leap forward – if you learn how to skip RESISTANCE”).

My 2021 list is quite short: I have planned to enjoy my life, every moment, day by day; and to consciously spend time with my family and take breaks whenever I feel I need them. But first of all, I will pull up the sleeves and kick-start the year with a new blog entry and keep going and going and going…