Awaken Your Best Self: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Joy in the New Year
In winter it is hard to conjure what we want, let alone to set resolutions and sometimes intentions. It’s like waking a hibernating bear: what we want is deep within us in a slumber. Let’s awaken our spirits, connect with one another, laugh, cry, dance, and begin to awaken the pieces of who we are at our core and share them proudly.
Let’s take that first step of becoming ourselves more authentically and to live our best life more lovingly, creatively, soulfully, and to dance into 2025. Here’s to our rising just as the sun rises and shines, so shall we in 2025.
Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail (And What to Do Instead)
In previous years I have worked hard to set a list of resolutions, changes that I want to embrace, and to start the year fresh faced and ambitiously energetic. Typically three weeks in, I fall miserably on my face and wonder why I never seem to be able to keep resolutions.
Well there is scientifically backed research that says resolutions typically fail within the first few weeks – well great, still doesn’t mean I have managed to solidify significant changes.
Instead of setting myself up for frustration, I’ve found a better way:
Reflect on your past year. Several years ago, I decided to look back on the previous year with each month being represented by song. It made the idea of being forward focused a little bit easier and more manageable.
Replace resolutions with intentions. Choose a single word, phrase, or theme to guide your year. Last year mine was “Self First”
Allow room for rest, creativity, and alignment with your natural energy.
A New Perspective: Learning to Do Less
Last year our women’s group (Women Empowering Women) read Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach To Time and Energy Management from Ambitious Women by Kate Northrup. This book sparked a year-long experiment for me to listen to my body.
If I was tired, I rested. I did not feel guilty for having less energy in one week than I did in previous weeks. If I felt energetic, I went for it. The result is finding things that spark creativity and energy for me and I spend less time worrying about the shoulds, coulds and what I should do for everyone else but me. Sure, my husband may say at times that I was more ‘ME’ focused in 2024. You know what I say, DAMN RIGHT. I cannot be supporting and helpful and the woman who does it all if I can’t put myself first and take care of me. So 2024 was learning what I needed and what my body was telling me. I will leave the experiment for you to try and how you respond (we are all different, thankfully).
Through reading Do Less, I came to understand that there are seasons in our lives. Winter is often a ‘fertile void’ and a time when we need to rest, to be still, to appreciate this season. So exhale and listen, in doing so, your creativity has the potential to grow exponentially.
Introducing Awaken
Inspired by this seasonal wisdom, AWAKEN was born. It’s about transitioning from winter to spring—awakening ideas, creativity, and the parts of you that may have been buried.
Too often, especially women, we have two personas: the one we show the world and the one we keep buried inside. AWAKEN is meant for us to acknowledge those personas and to begin to celebrate who we are at our core and to bring to light the pieces of us we have hidden.
Imagine a weekend dedicated entirely to:
Reconnecting with your authentic self.
Reflecting on what truly sparks joy and meaning in your life.
Refreshing your mind and body through intentional rest and inspiration.
That’s exactly what our FIRST EVER Women’s Retreat: Awaken is all about.
If 2025 is anything for us, it is bringing ourselves to the surface to live a more harmonious, connected and energetic life. Here’s to shining bright friends, I hope to see you at AWAKEN!
