Happy New Year! 2021 is here. Nothing magical happened at midnight to ensure this year was going to be better than the last. Yes, I was still awake, barely. But I did wake up to all the New Year, New You ads. All the exercise ads, the weight loss supplement sales, it was all in my inbox and my facebook feed.

It got me thinking about the beginning of a new year. I don’t typically like new beginnings because that means change and I’m not good with change. But in this case, a new year can mean whatever you want it to. It can mean a fresh start, a new outlook, or nothing at all. You get to decide.

I’m not big on resolutions. I feel like they just set me up for failure. If I set a bunch of big resolutions on Jan. 1, most likely by Feb 1, I’ve failed at something. Not a good tone to set for the other 11 months. I do like picking a “word of the year” though. I think it’s easier to live up to and takes the pressure away.

Last year my word of the year was “Yet”. Adding those three little letters can change your outlook on a lot of situations. I haven’t finished that…yet. I haven’t reached my goal…yet. I haven’t worn real pants this week…yet. It turns something you haven’t accomplished yet into something that seems more achievable. Like, hey, I haven’t done that but I’m still going to get there.

I’ve been pondering what my word should be for 2021. I contemplated doing “yet” once again because let’s be honest, a lot couldn’t happen in 2020. But that seemed too easy. So this year my word is going to be “BETTER”. There’s so many things I need to work and improve on and this seems so fitting for a year that can only be better than the last. Some things on my list include being a better wife, better friend, better sister, better daughter, better mom, better blogger, better Christian, better exerciser, better at being kind, better at eating healthy….the list is endless.

If we are being honest, is there any one area in our lives that we’ve perfected? For me, that’s a big no. There’s always room for improvement. This week has had me reflecting a lot about this past year. There were definitely things that I was better at this year than last. One of those things was my health. 2020 was the year I got better at eating healthy and making better food choices. However, December proved to be the month that showed me I still had a lot of room for improvement! But now I’m not starting over from scratch, I’m starting over with experience and will be better at it by next December.

A friend posted a video the other day that resonated with me. She said “nothing blooms all year”. (Thanks @kristafrancis78 ) It’s okay to have a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad month because the days, weeks and months that follow can all be better. We aren’t going to bloom all the time but by doing better, hopefully we can all bloom more often.

I hope 2021 is better for all of you.