New Year, New Perspective

If 2020 has taught us anything new, it is how little control we have in our lives. For me, this is a lesson that has served to confirm what Multiple Sclerosis had already begun to make a clear reality. Yet, while there is much out of our control, 2020 has also opened our eyes to what matters most. It allowed us to release some things we thought we needed to carry, but we didn’t. 2020 has taught us how to live with less, appreciate more, and recognize what matters most.

As I listened to the podcast Rhythms for Life with Ann Voskamp (S2:Ep61), I was reminded how much our perspective matters. At the end of most years, we set about making lists; resolutions for the new year. We tell ourselves that we will commit to being healthier, exercise more, complete a project, take on a hobby. While none of it is wrong, we often set ourselves up for failure. When we don’t follow our new rhythms and routines enough times, we just give up. What if this year, instead of merely making a list of resolutions, we decide to change our perspective?

One of my favorite quotes since my MS diagnosis is from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Rings.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. We can not always determine what happens to us. We still get to decide who we are and how we will respond. We choose our perspective; we decide what kind of person we want to be.

What do I want my life to be about?

What matters most, what are the priorities for how I spend my days?

Maybe instead of setting resolutions for the new year, we reflect on who we are, who we want to be. From there, we can decide the habits and rhythms of our life. Once we understand the type of person we are becoming, our practices can easily follow.

For example, if we say we want to be physically healthy, exercise, and eat well in 2021, we can set a goal. We may or may not achieve that goal, and often when we fail to keep up with our commitment, we give up. Or we can decide that we want to be a healthy eater, a runner, a walker. Someone who values health and wellness. Then as we create routines, evaluate schedules, and develop habits, these statements of who we are, change perspective and how we schedule our days.

Remember balance and the whole person is essential. Physical and mental health, spiritual and emotional health, community, creativity, these are all areas we can evaluate and decide who we are within those buckets as we create healthy, balanced rhythms for our life. And remember, as seasons change, so might your routines and priorities change. Yet that does not mean you have to adjust your identity. As a reader and learner, during the school year, time commitment to reading, taking classes, or webinars might be much less than in the summer when our routines allow us to commit more time. We don’t stop being readers; we simply adjust our practices to fit the season.

The beautiful thing about changing our perspective and deciding who we are becoming is that it allows us to establish flexible habits.

Flexible habits give us routines and rhythms that adjust to the seasons of life but stay true to the person we want to be.

@joy.marker

Tackling all the areas of our life might be overwhelming. While we can reflect on who we want to be as a whole person, we may want to take on one or two perspective changes/habits at a time. The good news is that once we begin to develop consistency in one practice, we find it inspires us to grow in other life areas, in different or new ways.

As we close out 2020 and step into a new year, what areas of our lives might need a perspective change? Let’s decide where our priorities are, who we want to be in those areas, and begin to change our rhythms and routines to fit the person we are becoming.

I am a writer, and therefore I make time to write.
I am a reader, and therefore I make time to read.
I am determined to age well; therefore, I make physical activity and healthy eating a priority.

What is one of your ‘I am’ statements for 2021?

I am ______________; therefore I do _________________________.

Link to podcast referenced:
https://rhythms-for-life.simplecast.com/episodes/ann-voskamp