With yet another strange and wonderful year behind us, I feel more certain that the secret to contentment is to learn to hold the good and the bad loosely. If we fight too hard for one outcome, it seems bound to slip out of our hands. Instead, I think learning to pivot, to evolve, to find joy in the small moments of our lives is essential for a happy existence.

Life is just so unpredictable except in the fact that change is certain.

It is often not the change we would want or would plan for our lives, but if we can be open to the good in it, sometimes we can redeem even the hard stuff, or at least we can learn strength and compassion. And sometimes life is so tough all we can do is survive. That is still winning as far as I am concerned. It takes courage to keep living when the pain runs deep and you lose hope.

Everything you are going through is impermanent.

It's something I have reminded myself of a lot this year. It reminds me the hard times will come to a close, and it reminds me to enjoy the good, joyful moments.

This year, instead of the usual new year's resolutions (that most people won't keep), I want to throw out some questions that I think will help you learn to pivot and evolve and live in a more intentional way in 2022. The questions come from therapist Nedra Tawaab. I follow her on social media and think she has one of the best accounts out there. Her insights on setting boundaries and relationships are very practical and empowering.

I encourage you to block off about 30-60 minutes to sit down with her questions and write out answers to each of them. It will be worth every minute.

10 questions to help guide you:

1. What did 2021 teach me about myself?

2. Who showed up for me, and how can I nurture those relationships?

3. What do I need to accept about myself and the other people in my life?

4. how did I cope with uncomfortable feelings?

5. How can I better manage my reactions to my feelings?

6. In what ways will I better take care of myself in the coming year?

7. What has been a barrier to me completing my goals, and how will I remove the barrier in the coming year?

8. What limiting beliefs do I need to release?

9. What do I need to practice doing more or less?

10. What one boundary do I need to implement to improve my peace in the coming year?

10 questions credit to @nedratawwab
Link to the Instagram post

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