By the end of 2022 I was feeling exhausted. I desperately needed a break.
I'm uncertain if I really got a considerable break over Christmas — we hosted Christmas at our house for the first time, I cooked for eight people, and we headed up to Scotland for New Year celebrations.
It was fun, but it wasn’t entirely relaxing.
It was different, though — different to the usual schedule of work, the usual stress and the usual ups and downs of a working week.
Critically, I managed to reflect on 2022, and I spent some time thinking about 2023.
I’ve started January of this year with a few intentions:
- Don’t eat meat (at least for January)
- Exercise daily
- Get to bed by 10pm
- Wake up before 7am
We’ll have to check in on these as February rolls around, let alone January 2024. But I have intentions and I am feeling positive about all of them so far.
Upon further reflection though, I know I am guilty of a cycle — every January, I feel re-energised, I start afresh, I have great intentions, and I carry them out. I’ve even written on this blog about them (often I write when my energy is highest, too):
- 2019: create more, consume less
- 2020: create better, consume better
- 2022: the January blues (podcast episode)
Perhaps my more profound realisation heading into 2023 is that even the greatest of intentions can be weighed down and held back — by external forces, by lack of energy, by drifting without realising.
Why don't I have any intentions as September rolls around? Why did my writing, my exercise, my routine fall off mid-to-late last year? Why does that happen almost every year?
In 2023, my most important intention is to not wait until December to reflect, recharge, and reassess myself.
There is too much I want to achieve in this life to let a month slip by.
I will take more time to check in with myself, to reflect on how I’m feeling, how I’m spending my time, and to recharge my batteries to make every day count.
Here’s to a fulfilling 2023.