New Year, True You

Reflecting on 2023 since apparently it’s almost over

I finally started reflecting on 2023 on December 28, sitting beside the indoor pool at the Buffalo Airport Marriott. My two kids were the only ones swimming, and in between their delighted shrieks and splashes, the atmosphere was calm, warm, and surprisingly serene.

I continued reflecting on 2023 on December 29, standing beside Niagara Falls. We were four among hundreds of tourists, and in between the crowded photo op spots along the walkway, the atmosphere was calm, cold, and surprisingly serene.

Over the past couple of days, I have been shoulding myself into having deep thoughts and getting psyched up to start a new year. I have been pressuring myself to come up with insights that are different from all the other year-end posts and Substacks, and to turn those insights into meaningful, inspiring, and well-written words.

The reality is that I am on day 22 of my cycle, feeling both drained and bloated, both emotionally and physically. The words aren’t typing themselves as they sometimes do. The self-doubt is creeping up as it always does during the last week of my cycle. And yet, I did want to get one more Substack out there before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. So.

I am not a resolution person. Nor am I a “new year, new you” person. But I do love a clean slate. And I do have some baggage that I’ll be happy to leave behind in 2023. Here are a few thoughts I’ve mustered out of my mushy, pre-menstrual brain:

My most precious memories from the schlep of a year that was 2023 all revolve around in-person connection. In 2024, I will build on these experiences and prioritize in-person gatherings and interactions even more.

Social media is feeling like more and more of a drain; yet I know (think?) I need to have a presence in order to promote my coaching, my course, and my upcoming book. In 2024, I will continue to figure out how to make social media work for me, instead of feeling like it controls me. And I will prioritize my mental health over followers and likes. I want to believe that my work will be found by those who need it. I’m getting there, slowly.

In the past year, I hit five years alcohol-free, and kept going. I grieved the death of a beloved family pet for the first time as an adult, and kept grieving. I started teaching fitness classes on a trampoline, and kept teaching. I continued the work of ditching diet culture and practicing body acceptance, and kept practicing. I made enough progress on my book proposal that there’s no turning back, and kept writing, reading, and tweaking.

In 2024, I will keep going, teaching, listening, learning, sweating, crying, resting, writing, furthering myself along my path of self-discovery, and helping as many women as I can along the way.

I am going to stay in it, y’all. Whether that is the easiest or hardest thing to do. I am going to continue the work of crowding out the crap by adding in the good (more on this idea in a future post). I am going to stay brave, and when I don’t, I hope to at least stay true.

Peace out, 2023. Be cool, 2024.