Inspire Me // A Fresh Start

I think the New Year comes at the perfect time – pretty much everyone could use an extra dash of motivation and inspiration to make it through the bleak grayness of winter ahead.  Motivation in winter can be hard: it’s cold, the hours of sunlight are unfairly short (but we’re on the upswing now, hooray!), and days are often grey and dreary.  Spring, with it’s freshness and color, seems so far away.  So I’m pretty sure the New Year is a perfect solution.  I always get a burst of motivation to finish an old project or get started on a new one, to make every moment count, to start living my dreams – and there seem to be less distractions in the winter-y void between Christmas to Easter.

So even if you’re one of those people who makes plans and then abandons them at the slightest hint of warmer weather, take heart.

For me, the New Year isn’t so much a time to implement new laws that will govern me and tie me to a certain regimen; rather, it’s a time where I can reflect on the year that has past and dream bigger for the year that’s to come.  It’s a time to look at the habits and patterns I have created and perform some tweaking and maintenance for the future.  It’s like an oil change or an annual physical – to make sure everything is running smoothly and to take action before huge problems arise.  This is the stuff that’s going to last the whole year – and small steps eventually lead to big ones.

So, what tweaks am I making this year? Here is the basic plan:

SIMPLICITY: I need to take more “me-time” to keep stress and emotional exhaustion in check – this includes getting enough sleep, cutting back on electronic-time, and doing just-for-fun things.

CREATIVITY: I am happier and more fulfilled when I get this stuff out of my system, and I know it’s part of my calling to do so – journalling, painting, songwriting, photography – I’m sanctioning a no-pressure no-excuses creative explosion!

BRAVERY: I am ready to take some chances and dream a little bigger this year – and stop limiting myself with the fear of failure or rejection.  Big things are going to happen in 2012!

So there you have it – my theme for 2012.  I’ll be going into a little more detail over the course of January about what each of these values means to me, and how I’m looking to implement them in my life.

Did you make specific New Year’s resolutions? Or do you stick with a general theme/sentiment?