As we embark on 2022, I am not sure much has changed from 2021. While I am feeling optimistic that there may be a shift and some of the restrictions we have lived under for two years will lift, giving some more freedom, I’m not in a hurry to rush back to the way things were.
In my reflection on 2021, I wrote about some challenges that I had throughout the year, I struggled to give myself a break, to listen to the cues that my body was giving me and to spend my time on my priorities. So, I set my intention for 2022 with that in mind, my intention is to practice self-kindness.
By self-kindness, I mean to show the kindness I give to others to myself, to practice self-care, and to set and defend my mental, physical and time boundaries.
Self-care is so important and I regularly say to others ‘take care of yourself’ but I’m not very good at doing it myself. Particularly when it comes to rest, I will always find ways to fill my time. There is always housework to be done, personal admin, business admin, work, exercise, study… the list is endless and impossible to complete, yet I still strive to get through as much as I can in each day and get cranky at myself when I don’t get everything done. I rarely use spare time to take a break, to sit in the sunshine with a cup of tea (one of my most favourite ways to relax) or watch some trashy TV and chill out on the couch. I fill my time with activities and I don’t often stop to think about where my time is best spent. I will be more mindful of where I spend my time in 2022, I will spend more time on self-care and focussed on what is actually a priority for me.
As someone who suffers from chronic illness, I am constantly checking in on my body to see how my blood sugar is going and making the necessary adjustments to maintain it in a healthy range. However, last year when I started to feel regular back pain, I chose to ignore it, I felt that I already had enough health issues going on and that I didn’t want to believe that something could be wrong. That didn’t work out well and the pain continued to get worse, to the point I was flattened, I was forced to rest and I am still rehabbing and recovering today. I may not have been able to avoid the physical injury, but I may have been able to intervene earlier and lessen the severity. Your body knows exactly what it needs, we just have to tune out the noise and distraction to hear it. Yoga gives me the time and space to really tune into my body, to intuitively give it what it needs in my practice, however, it is an ongoing journey for me to be able to take this off the mat into my everyday life. I learnt the hard way and I will not ignore the warning signs again.
My to do list is long (not a badge of honour), yet I still add to it regularly, I am excited to study, to learn more, to expand our business, to support the kids with their activities, to catch up with friends and family. While I truly believe that you can make time for what is most important, there is a limit. I need to learn to say no to what is not important, outsource what others can do for me and have comfort that sometimes now is not the time, and my answer can be later.
Similar to saying no is setting boundaries and communicating them up front. We often know what our boundaries are, but if no one else knows, it makes it harder to defend those lines. We often assume that others should know what our boundaries are, but we actually have to tell others what your priorities are, where your boundaries are and where you will be spending your time, which will make it much easier to stick to.
So this year I will be kind to myself, I will take breaks as I need, provide my body the care that it needs, I will say yes to my priorities and no to what is not important. Keeping my intention of self-kindness in mind I will make decisions to make this year healthier and happier than the last.
What is your intention for 2022? I wish you all the best for the year ahead.
Xo
Jo
One thought on “My intention for 2022”