It’s the new year, so we naturally get excited about all the possibilities. A lot of us like to set New Year’s resolutions or intentions if we are feeling the momentum that a new year brings and looking to make drastic changes. And I will freely admit that I continue to make New Year’s resolutions, and pick a word or two for the year. I absolutely buy into all that hype. However, since grounding myself and connecting the patterns I’ve built an awareness of, I noticed New Year’s resolutions don’t work for most. Now I don’t want this to be discouraging. But I want to share my discoveries and how we can more productively use that momentum for the new year in a way that aligns more with the seasons and planets, helping us commit to the resolutions that we have.
New Year, New Opportunity to Put It Off… Again…
More often than not, despite our momentum or enthusiasm, that hype only lasts a couple of days or a week or two at most. Then we kind of fall back into our regular patterns and forget about it until we want to try the next new year. Again, I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer here, but the truth I’ve been seeing and noticing when people talk is that there’s a lot of this hype that once January 1st hits, we will drastically change everything. Which sounds exciting but also kind of unrealistic because there are many factors that go against this.
Trying to Force It
You need to remember that we’re still in winter energy and recently had winter solstice towards the end of December. So with our natural connection to nature and the seasons, how winter feels more withdrawn as the plants and trees die, is actually inviting us to tune inward and hibernate in our senses. Just because the calendar changes to January 1st, it doesn’t mean that we’re all of a sudden going to be in this “spring energy of blossoming” or “summer energy of action” and things like that. We must be mindful of what the natural rhythm of nature is telling us and work with it instead of brute forcing our way into change which is counterproductive. It’s the time to be extra gentle with ourselves.
Is it the Right Time for a Change?
Something else that I notice is we’re usually staying up late for New Year’s (and likely on several other occasions over the holidays leading up to the 31st). Not only that, but we’re likely eating decadent foods and sweets (I know I like to get into the goodies) and eating later, too. Plus, with all the partying, we may be drinking a bit more. Then we have December 31st, where we welcome the new year and possibly end up feeling a little hungover the next day. So I find it pretty unrealistic to go from spending the tail end of the year, with all of the time off over the holidays, letting loose, and then it’s January 1st, and expect to say “Okay, I’m gonna to start working out for an hour everyday!” We’re suddenly expecting to do all the things that we haven’t been preparing our bodies for up until now, making it more difficult than it has to be. To make the best use of this forward-moving energy, we need to be strategic. Instead of just saying, “I’m going to do ALL the things NOW!” and attempting to make a drastic change, you need to consider the seasons and lifestyle patterns from the last few months. For example, if you haven’t done any yoga and then all of a sudden want to do one hour every day, it’s going to burn you out too fast.
The Perfect Time to Plan
I find it much more beneficial to use this time at the beginning of January to map out the year using astrology. Reflect on the dreams coming up and review past journals to see what was happening in the sky at the time of dreaming, especially if some are reoccurring. You’ll want to pay attention to what’s impacting you in your dreams because that’s a direct message from your subconscious. You can then harness that energy of reflecting to look at what the planetary energies are doing. Then consider when there’s going to be a prime time for you to do those big new things. Like launching a business, putting more focus on your health or relationships, or planning an impending move. When you can see where the energies are lying in your astrological chart and map it throughout the year, you’re able to pinpoint a couple of things to focus on and plan to tackle them effectively.
Reflect, Assess, then Take Action
Use the energy of winter as an opportunity to take inventory of your whole life, and reflect and revisit what you need to release. Consider the goals that are no longer in alignment with your life and move them or let them go if it’s for the best. Examine where you need more focus, what is being highlighted in your astrology chart, and give that more attention instead of trying to do all the things. When you use your time to reflect, you can create a small plan and then do those resolutions in small, bite-sized pieces throughout the year instead of falling prey to that hyped-up need to do it all at once. Because maybe you did start strong on January 1st, but by January 7th, you’re already feeling like you’re swimming against the current. If the seasonal energies and astrology are inviting you to rest, and perhaps Mercury is going retrograde again (depending when you’re reading this), then why fight nature? If you fight it, eventually, it’s going to catch up with you. Then you’re either going to be exhausted trying to keep up. Or you miss a day, which becomes a couple of days, progressing into weeks, and finally back into old habits. You’re likely to be more discouraged as opposed to having a big, clear vision and working on one small thing you can do every day.
So maybe instead of a one-hour yoga class, you do a ten-minute flow and work your way up. That is much more supportive of your growth than trying to make all the changes at once without considering everything else happening around you. I hope this is helpful and not discouraging because while New Year’s resolutions don’t work the way people would like them too, I am still a fan of the idea when it’s approached with some forethought and strategy. So go ahead and pick a word for the year, make grand plans, and check out how your astrology can help you make those goals manifest. And if you are ready to work with astrology and your dreams to creating lasting transformation that’s exactly what I cover extensively in my Cosmic Dream Alchemy course. Please reach out with any thoughts or to share what you plan to work on this year either at meli@thedreamingyogi.org or find me on social media.
