I think just about everyone is ready to start the new year with a different outlook, positive mindset, and some change. I know I am. But I don’t think making resolutions is the solution to start this new year.

If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s that every day is a gamble. You really don’t know what’s going to come next and it’s important to live each day at a time.

I think 2020 was a good year for us all. Despite feeling as though the world was falling apart, it brought some unexpected good in the strangest of places. It forced us to let go of expectations, plans, and the feeling of security. It taught us that life is fragile and so is good health. It revealed to us the true colors of those we thought we had similar values to both politically and personally. It forced us to spend intimate time with those we love and also forced us to look at the relationships that may not be serving us.

Sometimes, we need to be shaken to realize all that we have taken for granted for so long.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to become more aware, mindful, and in tune with our emotions that, before, could have been so easily drowned out with every day distractions of life.

I will be taking only two things into 2021.

I guess you could call them resolutions, but I’m looking at them as “priorities”. There is no end goal for me; no measurable outcome that I am striving for.

I am only changing two things in my life because I feel that these changes will seep into every other part of my life seamlessly, without effort, for the better.

Movement.

One of the two things I will be doing in 2021 is physically moving. That’s it. Once a day, I will move my body in some way. It doesn’t have to be monumental like going to the gym. Just movement, undistracted, and with some intention. I have an interest in yoga recently because the movement combined with meditation is extremely beneficial for both physical and mental health.

Just movement of some sort.

With movement, I anticipate my body to become stronger, more confident, and healthier. All things that will benefit every other aspect of my life including my work, relationships, and ambitions. By making a small change, the rest should fall into place eventually. But I’m not putting the pressure on myself to reach a certain goal because I believe that unrealistic goals lead to failure and failure leads to diminished self worth and negativity. Two things I’m trying to leave behind!

Mindfulness.

This one is quite possibly the most important change we could all take away. I think during 2020, I realized how fast life goes by, which is kind of ironic since we were all locked up in our homes for a year. But, there was a lot of thinking that I did about the reality of the situation. Millions of people were dying and who was to say I wasn’t next or my loved ones? I thought about my life and all that I’ve done and achieved. All of my accomplishments were trivial things that weren’t tied to any of my relationships, including my relationship with myself.

At the end of life, we don’t take anything with us besides the memories we create, the kindness we give, and the relationships we form. Everything else is left behind.

If there is one thing in 2021 that I want to practice, it’s mindfulness. Being aware of my surroundings. Putting the phone away. Putting the work down. Creating memories through my entire 5 senses, not just blindly walking through life with my head down in a screen.

I want to give an example of mindfulness that I encountered recently.

I started the tiny home project as a way to connect with my dad this year. It was a project to foster our relationship and create memories that I will take with me forever.

Instead, it taught me how tense our relationship can get under pressure. How alike we are and how much we can clash. In starting a project that was meant to embody excitement, happiness, and accomplishment, I ended up learning all of the weak points in our relationship. In doing this though, I’ve learned better ways to communicate with my dad and have a better understanding of how we got to this point and how we can create a more secure, loving relationship going forward. Something I was so blind to before taking on this project. In the end of this, I hope we come out stronger, more connected and bonded than before and are able to communicate in a much healthier way.

If there’s anything I can say about going into 2021, it’s that there are more important things than yourself. Life is not all about dropping that 15 pounds, getting to 10,000 followers, or being like someone you admire. The work you do will be forgotten when you leave. Everyone is replaceable in their careers. And you will never be the person that you follow that you think you want to be like.

What can’t be taken from you are the memories you make and the lessons you learn to become a better person. You can only control yourself and your own actions; therefore, you are only in charge what you let into your life and how you choose to act. 2021, for me, is about remembering every second and breaking unrealistic expectations of others and myself. Becoming more mindful in the process and remember that if you don’t like the position you are, you can change it.