Happy January! Last month, I chose “restore” as the word of the month and let me tell you, that quickly went down the drain as soon as the middle of the month hit. I’m going to have to recycle that word later on this year as a monthly intention because the one thing I’ve realized at the end of December is that I’m burnt out.
I’m well aware of what being burnt out means but I’m always surprised how long it takes me to realize and accept that it’s happening to me and I need to slow down and go through the feelings of it. Even when everything feels emotionally and physically tiring, I still push through my day without asking why and how I got to this point.
The biggest sign that I’m burnt out came around when I sat down to write down my 2022 New Year Resolutions and the goals I want to work towards building into my life. I spent so long just sitting in front of my journal, trying to conjure up words on how I’m feeling and where I want to be at the end of 2022 and zip, nada, I couldn’t think of anything. I just felt so tired and the whole task of setting up for the New Year felt like such a heavy task that I didn’t want to go near it.
This is pretty weird for me because I love the fresh start of a new year. The idea of a new beginning and wiping away the mess that was the previous year feels therapeutic for me. Last year, as soon as the ball dropped, I journaled so much and made spreads and aesthetics for 2021. Even though I didn’t accomplish or follow everything I intended to, they’re some of my favorite spreads to look back on because they force me to remember the passion I have to futher my life.
I didn’t force myself to write anything or do goal work until I was ready and ready came a few days later into the first week of the year.
This month, my word is reset. I want to really focus on resetting my life and make small steps to get ready to build routines that’ll better my life.
I don’t want to give into the New Year panic and try to clean and organize everything in one weekend, I want to be intentional and really go through different areas of my life.
Resetting everything and clearing out my physical and mental environment is going to be the first step in my burnout recovery process. I’m going to be spending January reminding myself that it’s okay to be overwhelmed and that making small changes around me to welcome in a new beginning will chip away a bit of the overwhelming cloud of doom that’s carried over from December.
What’s your monthly intention?