This year I’m focusing on the idea of “accepting what is”.
I don’t mean this in the sense of giving up, or throwing up my hands and saying, “it is what it is”. That’s not what “accepting what is” means for me right now.
Right now in my life, accepting what is helps me with the changes I’m experiencing. I'm turning 50 in 2023 and I’m definitely in a time of change with my mind, my body and my lifestyle. “Accepting what is” offers me a way to move through that with grace.
I've been practicing yoga for 17 years. It’s humbling to go to yoga class and realize that my body won’t cooperate to do poses like I used to when I was 35 or 40 or even 45. Yoga is a practice where accepting what is applies for anybody at any age or stage. Your body is different every day and what you can and can’t do in yoga changes all the time.
I'm so grateful for my long-standing relationship with yoga. I’m strong and flexible, and I’m able to step onto my mat and slip into a practice that sustains me and inspires me and brings my mind to a feeling of rightness. The fact that I can't do all the poses in the same ways that I used to is something that I need to accept, while also continuing to strive to do my best each time I’m on my mat. If I don’t accept what is in my yoga practice, I’ll just feel bad every time I practice, and I might end up hurting myself trying to do more than I should.
So how can I take this idea off my mat and into the rest of my life? This has been my focus so far in 2023. Rather than feeling like I’m just settling by accepting what is, it's actually inspired me to be the best that I can be in the place that I'm in right now. It's also helped me to accept that I might need different things at this point in my life.
For example, I was struggling to organize my time and my tasks to feel productive and get things done. I was using the same methods that I've used for my entire career, and I realized that those weren't working anymore. I was holding a lot of things in my mind, and that was making me feel overwhelmed and anxious. So, I started writing down every single thing that I need to do. I keep a list on paper and I use an app on my phone.
I consult my list every morning as the first task I do. I add anything that’s missing, and then I make a separate list for what I need to do that day. I try to keep that daily list reasonable so that I can accomplish everything and feel good at the end of the day.
This is “accepting what is”. Brain fog is part of the change I’m going through. Helping myself to be more organized, and think more clearly, is a way of accepting what is while also striving to be my best. I’m no longer beating myself up every day or worrying about forgetting things.
Accepting what is helps me to be kinder to myself.
Where can you increase your own kindness to yourself by “accepting what is” in your life?