2023?!? Woah! That happened fast!

A lot of us are about to get super excited about new year’s resolutions.

I give props to anyone looking for ways to improve their personal and professional lives. But the fact that some people feel limited to making changes only at the top of the year is kind of a stinker.

Why wait for January? Let’s start in December!

If you’re looking for ways to re-center yourself this month, this is for you.

In honor of the winter season (which can be emotionally and mentally dark and challenging)… my motto for the month is “make your own sunshine.” It’s all about being proactive and empowering yourself now, not later.

4 Ways to Prepare for the New Year

Consider this a quick guide to experiencing a beautiful upward spiral in your life.

Communicate your needs.

Because we can’t assume others know.

Yes, we hope that the people in our inner circle understand us. But no one is a mind reader. Help them help you.

Let yourself openly express your feelings and opinions with key people in your life:

• people in your household
• people at work / on your professional team
• whoever has a seat at your table

Leverage your cycles.

Because struggling upstream proves nothing to no one.

Quietly and miserably pushing through tough conditions doesn’t necessarily prove how great you are. Instead, you just get to suffer more, and so do the people around you.

Look for healthy — emphasis on “healthy” — shortcuts that can save you time and energy.

Examine how the following factors might affect your mood and productivity:

• daily energy fluctuations
• menstrual cycle syncing
• sleep cycle

Move your energy.

Because you are not your body, but you are its greatest caretaker.

Our bodies deliver clear and potent messages to us when it’s time to change something about our mentality or lifestyle.

There’s so much that can be said about the relationship between personal wellness, professional success, and healthy relationships.

One quick thing I’ll point out is that your body has tons of answers, but our mainstream education system has failed to teach you this.

Take some time to notice the connections between these parts of your body:

• Your throat and digestive tract.
• Your heart and spine.
• Your feet and hands.

(If you’d like me to dive deeper, please leave a comment below.)

Present your future.

Because tomorrow will be affected by today’s decisions.

“Present your future” is my play on words that means this: Bring the future to the forefront of your mind. But make sure you do this in a balanced manner.

Find a way to be forward thinking without becoming totally consumed by fear or anxiety about the future. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, but that doesn’t mean we should throw tomorrow out with the trash.

• Take a preventive approach to your health
• Save your resources for a rainy day (energy, time, money, food).
• Take a humble approach to social conflict.
• Remain present with today while understanding tomorrow is connected.

Perhaps you want to journal about these four points, or discuss it with someone important in your life.

Moral of the story? Don’t wait for society’s timeline to give you permission to invest in yourself!

The post 4 Ways to Prepare for the New Year (December Spiral) appeared first on Kat Quintana.