January: Say “Hasta La Vista, Baby”

From your What’s Next Journal by Cynthia de Lorenzi and Hope Katz Gibbs

With each New Year, we engage in an internal conversation: Sometimes, we reflect on our lives and realize that all is actually quite well and decide to stay with the status quo. More often, though, we make New Year resolutions with lists of everything we want to change, learn, and grow into.

Too often, those plans to stick to a daily exercise routine or learn to garden get trumped by old patterns that are more comfortable and hard to break. And then we reprimand ourselves for capitulating and caving in.

Here’s the good news: Whether it is losing weight, quitting smoking, getting organized, or growing our business, we start the New Year off with a promise of doing and being better — in 2021, we want you to know you are not alone!

We believe it is time to take a new approach to welcome the New Year, and that is by saying baby, to the year we are leaving behind.

Here’s how we hope to help you get ready for What’s Next:

Please give thanks for what you do have: It is important to express gratitude for even the smallest positive places in your lives and acknowledge and release the past, good or bad. Our cover story in the December 2020 issue of Inkandescent Women magazine offers Affirmations from dozens of women and a guide on creating your own.
Clear the clutter: In preparing to welcome January, we are spending December helping you to clear out anything in your life that has been holding you back — inside and out. We have created a list of actionable steps you can take to prepare for meaningful change with purpose, see below.
Suspend disbelief: Many items on this list may sound spiritual or maybe even hokey but think about the importance and value of making a formal goodbye. Think of these ideas as simple ways to unpack years of negativity.
Commit — to yourself: Simply making and acting on a commitment to release our failures (real or perceived) and regrets — and once and for all, clean out that closet filled with anything that doesn’t serve you (from old sweaters to lost loves).
Set the stage for positive change: It is essential to process the past to prepare for the future. You got this! We are here to help you.
Get started right now: To help you throughout the year, this month we will be publishing Your 2021 What’s Next Journal — filled monthly with the stories and ideas of women who will inspire you and interactive activities aimed at feeding your mind, body, spirit, soul, and heart, including writing and art prompts to affirmations, exercises, and healthy recipes.