Revolutions

New Year. New me. 

When my oldest son was little he used to call them New Year's Revolutions. Change approved. Screw resolutions. Imma have a revolution. Burn the old regime to the ground. Even back then, my soul knew what was up, even if I didn’t. If my life was a novel, you would call this foreshadowing. 

Resolution. To resolve. To solve a problem. It feels so heavy. There is something wrong and I must force myself to solve it using sheer will and determination. I resolve to be better, do better. I am unworthy the way I am. I must change. This feels just a little toxic.

Revolution on the other hand is exciting, dangerous, irreversible. Burn it to the ground and rebuild it the way you want it to be. A bit dramatic but definitely effective. Revolutions are inspiring, if you look past all the beheading and treason. Oppressed people have had enough and are forced to fight for change. There is no motivation quite like being out of options. It’s easier to change when the alternative is you die. 

I like revolutions because if you truly want change, you have to revolutionize the way you do EVERYTHING. If you want different, you have to be different. You can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results. 

During my revolution, there were many situations where the bridge had been burned and I had no choice but to press forward. I couldn’t go back, so I gathered my courage and stepped into the unknown and created a new path. 

Change doesn’t have to be so dramatic. You don’t have to burn EVERYTHING, but you do have to burn some things if you want that change to stick. Make the change irreversible if you want it to last. Set your boundaries and build a fortress around them with a dragon guarded moat. Don’t open that drawbridge for anyone, not even that peddler with a cart full of wine and flashy jewels. 

Make your boundaries realistic for your life. Let’s say you want to drink “less” in the new year. Well, you need to be specific about that. If you pledge to never drink again… well except for Belinda’s birthday and maybe Cousin Carol’s wedding and like, maybe on a first date, you’ve already failed. That peddler has drugged your dragon and is inside the walls hawking his wares to the peasants, everyone is broke and you’re in jail for nonpayment of taxes. You may as well have not bothered building any walls. They are full of holes. Your fortress is just a screen door. You need to get clear about what you want your life to look like and what is important to you before you can create lasting change. You need to know what it is you are protecting before you can determine how to protect it. 

A while back I made some pretty dramatic changes to my eating. While I was on the program, I had a fortress set up. I felt amazing. I had more energy than I had in years and my digestive health was the best it had ever been. Once the program ended and I had to create my own boundaries, things went a little bit sideways as I tried to balance my boundaries against the social life I thought I wanted. I struggled a bit while I tried to figure out what was the most important to me and how to maintain my healthy lifestyle while still maintaining my relationships. Eventually, I  figured out, if I wanted that lasting change, I needed to maintain those boundaries. I realized that the people in my life would probably love me even if I didn’t split a plate of nachos with them. Let’s face it, going out for dinner is more about the conversation than the food anyway. I could BE in the moment, enjoy my friends and still maintain my healthy lifestyle. I could have it all. Are there still challenges? Of course, but I decided that I preferred the energy I felt, my healthy digestive system and my glowing skin to the momentary indulgence and inconvenience. And so I stand, rooted firmly in my new food revolution, remembering all I have gained. 

What in your life are you ready to revolutionize? Burn that bridge and don’t look back!

Rolling into 2024 with intention and conviction! May it be your best year yet!