Making the Most of a New Year
Posted: February 1, 2019
Happy New Year and Welcome to 2019! I know it is not the case for everyone, but I always get excited when its time to celebrate a new year. For me, ringing in a new year means excitement and the sense of a fresh start: 12 new months to try again, 365 new days to do something different, and the potential for so many things to change. We can draft out these hoped-for changes in our hearts and minds and even on paper as we construct resolutions to make the most of the new year before us.
This year, I will spend money differently.

This year, I will start working out regularly.
This year, I will actually use my vacation days.
This year, I will eat more healthy foods.
This year, I will make more time for the things that matter.
This year, I will….
The possibilities are endless and the hope is invigorating as we dream about all that the new year can hold.
While many people, myself included, go through this process individually, I have found it can also be incredibly helpful to do so as a couple and set your intentions for your relationships in the new year. For my husband and I, this looks like sitting down around December/January every year and taking some time to honestly and lovingly discuss the past year and outline goals for the next. We started a few years ago, and now have a set check-in to guide our discussion. Usually over dinner or coffee (hint-hint for a date night ), we focus our conversation on the following:
- What went well over the past year? What did we like most?
- What did not go well? What was most frustrating?
- What do we want to keep doing in the New Year?
- What do we want to see change?
- How can we make those things happen?
- This is the year we will…