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I’m not a fan of resolutions.

I understand ending the year with rumination and celebration. Hell yes! We survived, maybe in some cases we thrived, and we have another year (and hopefully some wisdom) under our belts, so a little reflection is warranted.

But who decided that we then needed to start each year with pressure and stress and anxiety? That we needed to make each new year about completely changing who we are? That we needed to become emotionally and mentally “better” and physically smaller and more of this but less of that?

I haven’t made a New Year’s resolution in about a decade and I certainly never followed through on the ones I made before that. Instead of vowing to lose 15 pounds, or conquer my personal finance goals, or finally start that 30-minutes-a-day meditation practice, or focus on weekly self-care habits (all of which will probably go down the drain in three weeks), I spend the first few days of January trying to figure out how I want to feel in the coming year. What I want to be celebrating when I watch the ball drop in 12 months.

And then I give myself the freedom and the space and the time to figure out what steps I want and need to take to get there.

With that concept in mind, I asked our readers this question yesterday:

What is your mantra or intention for 2021?

Reading their responses was a great reminder that we don’t need to resolve to be new or different or better each year. Sometimes it’s enough to just decide how we want to feel and how we can make that feeling a reality each day.

So when the resolution buzz dies down and you’re trying to decide what kind of year you hope to have, let these mantras and intentions ground you:

“Water your own damn grass.” ~ Gabby

“To live from my love and not from my anxiety.” ~ Kari

“Pause.” ~ Michelle

“Fear, you don’t own me.” ~ Renee

“Choosing me.” ~ Ed

“Recognise and except people that are different. Give a person a helping hand but don’t carry them.” ~ Robert

“Thrive, not just survive.” ~ Elizabeth

“Just. Keep. Celebrating.” ~ Daphne

“Do the work.” ~ Sylvia-Marah

“To enjoy each moment.” ~ Darlene

“I am the main character this year. Me. I am. This is my story.” ~ Alissa

“Progress, not perfection.” ~ Corina

“Be grace-filled and flexible.” ~ Christina

“I am enough. I am unlimited. I am awake.” ~ Vera

“Keep da f*ck calm and carry on.” ~ Musi

“To seek change.” ~ Aurora

“Break all my own limitations.” ~ Yolanda

“Surrender. Breathe. What’s meant to be will be.” ~ Rita

“Appreciate my blessings. Stop beating myself up for where I am in life.” ~ Justene

“Please, everyone, wear a mask.” ~ Diane

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