Word for the Year: Reclaim

Have you ever felt so busy that you just feel lost in the shuffle? When things get too much that you lose the sense of who you are because it gets ignored in favor of everything else? For the past few months, I felt stagnant. I felt like I was not getting anywhere and that I was not feeling fulfilled even with all the things that I do. That’s when I realized that I wasn’t giving enough time for myself, to the point that I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore. I think this new year is as good a time as any to change that. 

If anyone has noticed, I haven’t been blogging much for the latter part of the year. I have been so busy with work that my life has been a “home-office-home” existence. It’s like all I do is work because all I do when I get home is go to sleep and eat. I have no life outside of work apart from time with my family – not that it’s a bad thing, it’s just that I have absolutely nothing else aside from it. At one point I looked at myself in the mirror and I didn’t recognize my own face. Who am I? Who is this person in the mirror? I don’t know her anymore.

Hey there girl, hope I find you again.

For the past few years, I’ve had a word to use to help map out my year. This year it is the word RECLAIM. I want to reclaim the person that I am beyond my job and responsibilities. I want to give time to focus and reclaim that person who has other passions and interests, that person who wants to better herself in other aspects of life that have long been ignored. 

If you felt lost like me, you’re probably wondering how to go about reclaiming yourself. Here are some ideas that I am planning to use for myself:

Identify the aspects of yourself that you want to reclaim.

You need to take time to acknowledge the parts of your life that you have not been giving time to, the parts of your life that you feel are currently missing and would like to have back. Think about which ones you can do something about.

Recognize the parts of your life that take away from the self that you want to get back.

Look at your current life and schedule and figure out what or who takes away time from the things that you want to focus on to get yourself back. Things that you don’t necessarily have to do but end up doing anyway that take your focus away from the things that matter to you. 

Learning to say no.

Once you have acknowledged the parts of your life that take time away from you focusing on yourself, it is time to learn to say no to these things or people. Given that saying no is not something you’re used to, this will not be easy. Being a creature of habit will also be a challenge when it comes to this. What matters, however, is to try. Saying no to people can be hard, but I think if these people care about you, they would understand. If not, they clearly should not be given any room in your life in the first place.

Scheduling in time to focus on parts of your life that have been previously ignored.

As I mentioned earlier, being a creature of habit would be a challenge. When you’ve gotten used to the busyness of your life, it would feel impossible to make time to focus on the things that matter to you. It would help to actually schedule the time for you to do this the way you do for other things that keep you busy.

Make time to talk to the people who know you best.

I find that there are things about me as a person that I completely forget until a friend or family member mentions it to me. Sometimes talking to people you’ve known for years is a good way to look back on the person you were, which helps you to see who you have become and who you want to be in the future. 

I hope that my tips can help people like me who are looking at 2020 as a year to reclaim their lives for themselves. Personally, I know it won’t be easy, but it’s worth a shot!