There is a reason this is a special time of year for many people, the turning over to a New Year. I think this is because it gives us a chance to re-start. Much like the end of summer during our childhood years, or the march of age as we celebrate another birthday, the New Year provides us with an opportunity to re-evaluate where we are and look ahead to where we want to be.

It is well timed that a New Year should come at the end of the Christmas holiday season – a special time of year that I love, but one that can certainly put us off track from our healthy habits. As this festive period of heavy meals, extra glasses of red wine and servings of sweets comes to a close, we are inspired to leave the bogged down feeling of holiday overconsumption behind and return to healthy living. The truth is though, New Years offers more than just a chance to design a new eating plan or try a new workout routine, it gives us the chance to reflect. We have the unique opportunity to look back over all the things we accomplished in the past year, the challenges we faced, the heartaches, the celebrations and to put it all into perspective. In this spirit of reflection, we can then think about what we want the New Year to look like, whether that be altogether different or a reinforcement of what we have already created. Either way, we are inspired by all the promise and potential of the next 12 months and all that it may hold.

Now when it comes to New Years, I don’t believe in hard and fast resolutions (as they are prone to failure), or of having grandiose dreams without actionable plans to achieve it, but I do believe in setting intentions. I believe there is power in reflecting on the things that you would like to change this year and strategizing on what steps you need to take to accomplish it. There is power in recommitting to the goals you may already be working towards, like living a healthy lifestyle. And the greatest power lies in then writing it down. We all have different ways of doing this. Maybe it’s writing in a journal, or on your laptop, or making notes in your phone, or creating a vision board, but whatever format it might take, the act of writing it down, being firm in your intention and clear on the image of what that looks like, helps to move us along.

For myself, I write down the goals that I want to achieve, and what steps I need to take to get there. I have a few images of what the goal looks like to me, but I also am clear on what it means to me, what feeling I want it to create. For example, one of my goals is to continue on my health-focused path to well being. This might take varying forms for many people, but for me it is first and foremost about nutrition. So I commit to myself that I will continue to eat my whole foods, paleo diet with very limited intake of grains. I will continue to add in all the good stuff, like fermented foods, kombucha, homemade bone broth, turmeric, omega-3s and vitamin D, and all the goodness of greens. This also means that all the unhealthy stuff stays out (like refined grains, sugar, bad oils, etc) and that ‘treats and cheats’ are kept to a bare minimum. This will take commitment, dedication and meal planning, but I am also clear on what it means to me, which is more energy, feeling well, and good health.

My goal to improve my health is more than just nutrition, of course. It also includes working out regularly (with cardio and weight training), to restarting yoga, to meditation, reducing stress, practicing gratitude and beyond. There is no perfect path to achieve this, but the point is that it is my path and my intention to make this a priority in my life. I won’t begin the year as the perfect, healthy-eating yogi, but I will continue to take steps to get there and rest assured in knowing it will take time, dedication and possibly a few re-starts throughout the year should ever I get off track.

When we reflect on where we are in life, it is sometimes easy to get discouraged and to think about the things that we don’t have or to wish that life was different. But every time I find myself thinking that way, I try to remind myself that the only way to get from here (where I am presently) to the ever evasive there (where I want to be) is work. My work, hard work. The only way from here to there is me. So I am grateful for all the good things in my life, and for all the great moments and important lessons of the year that has now come to a close, and move forward with my intentions to get to work.

I hope you do, too!