Weaving Your Healing Journey: How small daily rituals create big change (personal growth and healing)
In the more recent years, I have been trying to come up with New Year's Resolutions. Not because I need to wait until the beginning of the year to make changes, but I really like the idea of reflecting on a time period and making adjustments. This year I realized why so many people make New Year’s Resolutions and then give up after one month… I too got irritated and felt like my goals were never going to be met. This is why for 2025 I decided that I would make monthly goals, so I can reflect on one small period of time and see what I liked or did not like, see if my goals have changed, or make entirely new ones.
January 2025 I had four goals.
6,000 steps each day
Do something active each day
No sweets
No spend
We will start with my step goal for the month. I came to the realization that I sit at work a lot and I do not necessarily have to, I can keep my body moving. So my first goal was to hit 6,000 steps each day of the month. I saw my average walking trend was very hit or miss depending on how busy the work day was and I knew that I am at least capable of 6,000 steps each day. Some days were harder to reach than others, but I was able to go on walks and became more motivated to want to go on walks in order to reach my step goals. I did miss some days and I am totally okay with that because my whole mindset changed, now I am averaging above 6,000 steps and I know if I miss a day that maybe my body needed some extra rest. Just because one day is off does not mean the next day is or even the rest of the days!
Do something active each day. Very quickly this goal and my step goal almost became one goal because I was going on walks (being active) to reach my step goal. However, this goal was intended to include going to the gym, doing yoga, and going for runs. I know that going to the gym is not one of my main focuses right now and that is fine. From my previous posts you can tell that I did include yoga in my day to day life in January. Honestly, most of my doing something active was going for walks to reach my steps. While I walk I like to listen to podcasts, especially if they are about learning. Sometimes I walk with my boyfriend, which is nice to spend some time off our phones and in nature (if the streets by my house are considered to be nature) LOL.
No sweets were created due to too many sweets during November and December. At work we were getting new desserts and candies brought to us almost every day it felt like and I have never been one to turn away a good dessert. It was like all these sweets were flowing out of our ears. Let me add that I do not think sweets are bad. I love eating chocolate, think Hershey’s or Reese’s Christmas Trees, but I do think there is such a thing as over consumption and that is what I realized was happening for me. I was very successful with this goal and on February 1st I woke up and ate a Hershey’s Christmas Bar 🙂 It felt good to stay accountable to this goal and “detox” from so many sweet things.
I will just tell you that I did not meet my no spend goal. However, I did keep my purchases more mindful, which is really what this goal was about. In either September or October of last year I did complete a thirty day no spend challenge. This challenge did not include things that are necessary such as health supplies or gas, so I can go to work every day. I am so much more cognizant of my purchases now. I had no idea how much $5 here and $10 there can add up at the end of the month. I am tired of spending money on things that I do not actually need or want. Just because I see it on TikTok shop or an ad on Facebook does not mean that I need it or will even use it. Just because my friend Emily has it and loves it does not mean that I will love it and use it.
These four goals were just big enough to me, they represented small things for me to remember each day that will make a lasting impact on my life. Will walking 6,000 steps make me shed weight? No, but it will help keep me active and on my feet vs on my butt. Will not spending money make me rich? No, but it can show me how to intentionally spend my money in ways that are beneficial to me. Will not eating sweets for only thirty days make me lose weight? No, but I do feel better having a small detox from them. These small changes I have implemented will create big changes for my life.
Now how did I come up with these four goals? Why four? Honestly I had no idea how to go about it. One day I just thought about the things I would like to change in my life and I thought about simple ways to go about them. I was tired of sitting on my butt, so an easy fix is to have a step goal each day. A perk of this goal is that when I go on walks it is keeping me off my phone and usually listening to a good podcast. These are all wins in my book! I was tired of not understanding where my money was going, so I stopped spending it. In a way three of these goals were about the same idea, but targeted a specific part. All together I want to be healthier and spend my money in an intelligent way. These smaller goals are great stepping stones to get to where I want to be. So tell me, what is bothering you in your life? Where do you want to see change?
