Spring is officially here, ushering in longer days and warmer temperatures.  Trees are blooming, plants are sprouting, and before you know it momma bird will be back to make her nest in the hanging basket on my front porch.  There is newness everywhere.  It’s a fresh start and it’s sweeping me off my feet.

Speaking of fresh starts, how’s your New Year’s Resolution going?

Are you totally killing that personal goal?  Was January 1^st the magical date for turning your life around? Have you started doing all the good things and stopped doing all the bad things?  Do you pretty much have life mastered?

I’ll wait while you quit laughing.

All done?

Catch your breath, then.

Okay?

Good.

Do you even remember what your New Year’s Resolution was?  I mean, you’ve likely slept since then and can’t be expected to remember all the things.  You are not alone.

Did you have a Not-a-New-Year’s-Resolution that you sorta, kinda, maybe hoped to accomplish but never quite started?  You are not alone.

Did you set a goal, start out strong, and then dwindle?  You are not alone.

Did you stray so far from your goal that you just threw your hands in the air, called it a loss, and ate another Twinkie?  A box of Twinkies?  You are not alone.

Are you still powering through, but only because you can’t bear the thought of someone saying I told you so?  You are not alone.

No matter where you stand with that personal goal, the only thing you really need to know is that you don’t need anyone else’s permission to do what you need to do.  If that is too open ended for you and you’re really more of a multiple-choice kind of gal, allow me to offer you these options.

1. You can totally do this. If this goal that you set for yourself was made with intention, still serves a worthy purpose, and your heart is still in it– keep going.  For goodness’ sake, keep going.  Not as far along as you thought you’d be?  Keep going.  You stalled for a while and feel like it’s too late to catch up now?  Keep going. You can keep going.
2. You can change your goal or set an entirely new goal. You wrote the plan, you are allowed to change the plan.  Or scrap that plan and write an entirely new one.  You can do a rewrite.
3. You have the power to decide that the goal you set for yourself no longer serves a worthy purpose.  You can determine if there is more value in letting it go than there is in lugging it around. This is okay.  You can put it down.

I do not know the goals you have for yourself, but it doesn’t matter.  I have mine, you have yours.  Here is what I know to be true.  Struggling under the weight of an unrealistic standard or arbitrary accomplishment is unnecessary.  Do you need more stress in your life?  I didn’t think so.  Cut yourself some slack.  Give yourself some grace.  Now dump it all out.

All the things you want to do.  All the things you want to be.  All the ways you think you should change. Dump them out.  Your life is not a Mary Poppins bag.  You cannot carry ALL THE THINGS.  Dump out all the goals, expectations, and ambitions that you’re carrying.  Spread them all out and take a good, hard look.  You might find some things that other people packed for you and immediately know that those things are obviously not yours to carry.  You may find things that you really love, but they’ve been lost at the bottom of the bag and are now coated in the dust of rogue Cheerios long forgotten.  Brush them off and have a look.  What things will serve you well?  What speaks to your soul?  What things bring joy or hope or happiness or renewal?  What things matter?  Pick those things up and pack a new bag.  You may find that you are quite happy with this clutch of hopeful personal growth and not that carpet bag of obligatory self-improvement.

Take this with you before you go.  Those things you deemed worthy of picking back up?  Not a single one is the magical key to happiness.  They are slivers of who you hope to be.  They may be worth it and if they are then you should keep going.  It will likely be a struggle.  That’s okay.  If it was easy, then you would have done it already.  You will move forward and learn from your mistakes.  That’s progress.  You will rewrite, realign, and readjust.  You will realize that your power lies in the pursuit and not just the accomplishment.  You will come to find that your fresh new start can begin on January 1^st or the first day of spring or absolutely any other day you choose.