I woke up on January 1st and could have sworn the air smelled fresher and my shoulders felt less stiff. (Or perhaps that was just the result of a two week vacation and drinking mulled wine every afternoon?!)

But alas, the bliss lasted all but a few days.

Did we really expect a “New Year, New World” to emerge at the stroke of midnight? A fresh start doesn’t wipe away the past—it simply allows us to try again and do it a little better this time.

This year, more than any other, I’m prioritizing filling up my own cup so I can continue pouring into those around me who need it.

That means earning an income that allows me to support local restaurants and small shops. Doing thought work that allows me to bring a calm and hopeful energy to those around me. Learning about privilege, so I can help empower those who are oftentimes overlooked. Bringing beauty and joy into my day so I can see the world through a lens of compassion and love.

Our goals are just as important in 2021 as any other year. What has changed is how we approach them. We all know that a new year doesn’t wipe away old habits, but it can create just enough momentum to tweak our routines ever so slightly.

And this year, I’m focusing much less on achievement and much more on happiness. Prioritizing what makes me come alive, even if that’s at the expense of what looks good “on paper”.

In other words, I’m approaching 2021 with the same boss energy of an 80 year old grandmother who has zero fucks left to give.

Here’s a peek behind the scenes:

For many years now I’ve been following my own natural rhythm of goal setting, which starts in September, simmers throughout the Fall, and often concludes with a blast of clarity in December. I’m someone who needs time to sit with my goals—to try them on for a few months—and when they feel right in my gut, I pounce on them. Having this breathing space is what allows me to step into January without getting sucked into the “what looks good on paper” hype.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I have definitely been easing into something new these past few months—trying it on for size—and I can genuinely say it has made me come alive.

Perhaps you can guess what I’ve chosen as my 2021 intention? To bring more CREATIVITY into my life.

I’ve danced with creativity on-and-off for a long time. I’ll dabble in it for a while, until my perfectionist brain storms in demanding why I’m wasting time on it. That’s the beauty of life: it’s always a double edged sword with our passions on one end, and an accompanying weakness on the other.

To bring more creativity into this year I also need to work on releasing my perfectionism.

In fact, the original title of this post was “Ditching Perfectionism in 2021”.

But there’s a bit of shame in that, isn’t there? A suggestion that eliminating perfectionism is the goal. What if the real goal is allowing perfectionism to exist without any shame? Perhaps even accepting that my creativity only feels so good because of the perfectionism I live with?

It’s a dance I’m ready for this year—more creativity and less perfectionism.

But talk is cheap, and since real progress is made through action, I have a little update to share.

If you’ve been here for a while, you might remember that I invested in a new website theme back in November and earmarked the Christmas holidays as dedicated time to work on it. I had planned on launching my new website at the end of January, but you know what? It’s January 8th and I’m ready to start leaning into my 2021 intentions in a big way.

I’m excited to officially share my new online home with you, here, today (!)

To prove that I’m ditching perfectionism along the way…

1. I still have a few sections to add (but minor ones, so no biggy).
2. Thanks to the lockdowns in Ottawa, my branding photoshoot got cancelled until February, so most of the images will be updated next month.
3. I had to manually transfer my blog posts from the old site, which means I have many more to update still.
4. There might be a link or two that don’t yet work.
5. I’m sharing the website raw from the heart—without having gathered feedback yet.

Here. We. Goooooo!