My New Year’s Tradition
I have a New Year's tradition that I love. I’ve been a “New Year’s goal setter” for as long as I can remember. Through my teenage years, I approached writing out my goals as a vision for the upcoming year rather than a checklist of things I wanted to accomplish. And honestly, after writing those goals out each year, I didn’t reference them much.
I’m very much a planner, to-do list maker, and color-coded calendar creator. So writing goals fit right in with my personality. It was never something I forced myself to do. It was something I genuinely wanted and looked forward to each year.
However, in the final hours of 2021, I felt the desire to do something a bit different. Instead of typing out a list of goals, I wrote my future self a letter. You’ll read it here in a sec. I had just experienced the hardest year of my life. 2021 was brutal. I’d imagine that’s why I didn’t feel very enthusiastic about setting goals. I didn’t want a game plan for 2022; I wanted comfort. I wanted hope. And well, this letter to myself delivered a bit of that.
For every year that has followed, this tradition stuck. Throughout the narrative of hope for the upcoming year, I weave in some “goals”. But more than aspirational changes, they’re encouraging words. Every so many months, I like to reopen that Word doc and remind myself of what I hoped for in the current year.
Oh, I suppose I’ll mention too—before writing my New Year’s Eve goals, I take myself down memory lane. I go through my calendar week by week, month by month, and recall what happened. In summary, I type out bold headers for each month and a little paragraph of the highs and lows. This reflection helps me put into perspective what I hope for in the next year.
My reflection for 2021 is pretty depressing. I won’t share it here, but I’m sure, based on the tone of my letter below, you’ll get the idea.
Why am I jumping back to 2022? Well, I think it’d be fun to go back to when I first started this new tradition. I’ll sorta “catch you up” on what the past few years have looked like for me. And then come January 2026, I’ll share my most recent “letter to my future self”.
With that said, here’s 2021:
So, typically, I make an organized list of goals, break them down into categories—mental, physical, and spiritual. I also typically do this on December 31st before midnight.
But here we are on January 28th. Trying something a little different this year. A letter to myself, with the same concept as previous years in mind.
Dear Kylie,
Last year was hard. Like really hard. I faced a lot of inner turmoil, unexpected changes, and waged a war in my mind that lasted months. And so maybe that’s why on December 31st I decided to spend my time where I would normally write out my goals, ranting in my journal about what a sucky year it was. Granted, I have to note there were some really good parts, but overall, not my finest trip around the sun.
So. 2022. What are my goals? They feel more abstract than concrete. And I think most of it is spiritual, which in turn would affect my mental and physical state. So, let’s focus on that spiritual aspect.
In 2022, I want to straight-up RUN after Jesus. I want to make him my all-encompassing priority, and I mean that in the most uncliché way possible. I want to take the school schedule I’ve been blessed with and fill God into every open nook and cranny. Practically, this means reading the whole Bible this year through the Bible Project reading plan, going to church twice on Sundays, taking opportunities to go to church events when I’m free, using my alone time to worship, and being in verbal conversation with God, just to give a few examples.
Essentially, I want to be super intentional about what I fill my mind and heart with. I need truth. I believe that means making worship music my regular, trading Netflix for Christian podcasts, and movies for The Chosen. Oh, and staying off Instagram. I want 2022 to be a detox from the lies and darkness I’ve been filling myself with over the past few years.
This sounds extreme, I know. No Netflix, Taylor Swift, or Ed Sheeran? But I think I NEED it. I’m sure it will be hard. After all, I’ve only been doing it for about a month. 11 to go.
But here’s the thing, Kylie. You opened Instagram today for what, 10 minutes? And the darkness that swept over you was crazy sad. I think now that I KNOW the mediums that break me down, and speak lies to me, I KNOW I need to avoid them.
I’m in a fragile season of life. And the only thing that fills me with joy and life and hope is Jesus Christ. I think feeling the way I have the past 2 days is worth cutting out secular music, social media, and Netflix. A world detox, if you will; pulling myself out of the heat of it (especially while I’m in the LA area).
So no matter the exact way I go about it, my goal for 2022 is to keep this fire in my soul ablaze for Jesus and get my theology right.
This year will be better.
Love, 2021 Kylie
2022 was better. Still hard. But better.
So began my New Year’s tradition. Check back soon to see how 2023 went. And remember, you are loved by God, wonderfully made, and beautifully you. Don’t let someone else’s voice speak louder than what’s true.
Until next time…
hugs,
Kylie
