What do I mean by that? I mean that the first couple of weeks feel like a mix of sluggish and confusing, often associated with planetary retrogrades. A little like when you wake up from a nap before you’re ready and you can’t quite get into the present moment—it feels cloudy with a chance of misunderstanding. My recommendation in the first couple weeks of January is to allow yourself to slow down. For instance, I’ve been planning on putting together a group program about trusting your intuition for my community, and part of me is so excited about the ideas I have! But my body wants to rest, and I strongly feel the energy of slowing down. Is it frustrating? Yes. But I know it would be even more frustrating to push ahead and be met with obstacles. (Also, what kind of intuition teacher would I be if I ignored this insight?) That’s the thing about your intuition; when you listen to it, it saves you trouble in the long term. So, I recommend using this time to really feel into what you want to create over the next few months, and when you get that intuition hit to act on it, things will flow much easier than if you had pushed ahead earlier. And on the topic of resolutions overall: I suggest quarterly versus yearly goals. Our inner child can get overwhelmed by the idea of a yearlong goal. Have you ever told a child to think about something being a year in the distance? Their eyes probably glaze over, or they feel like it will never happen. The same is true with your inner child. It’s not a concept they want to (or can) grasp. I’m not saying you can’t want something to still be true a year from now, but if you think about the steps it takes to get it in a more short-term way, then it can feel more doable. The last week feels much easier to me. It would be a great time to come back to those intentions or resolutions and start to take some action toward them. When taking mindful breaths, you align with your inner adult. Then, validate your inner child’s feelings while letting them know that you, the adult, are there to keep them safe. Try the 4-7-8 breathing exercise, developed by Andrew Weil, M.D., when you get anxious or feel an urgency to push ahead even though your intuition is telling you to pause. If you feel like you want to make resolutions but it’s not the time to map out how you’re going to do it, or even exactly what you want to do, jot down any ideas that come to you on your phone or a small notepad throughout the day. Then, when you feel more in the flow (maybe the last week of January!), come back to it and see if you’re ready to take action.
