Thursday Thoughts: New Year, New Me? Altering a Norm to Better Oneself By Serving Others

Happy New Year’s Eve! When I think back on 2020, it is easy to think back on the not so great things. Our “norms” have been transformed completely. Instead of moving through our crazy, chaotic and busy lives, we were forced to slow down, cancel our plans and adjust to a quarantine life.

While that was an inconvenience and could be viewed in a negative light, I want to rather view 2020 in a more positive light. What were some things that came to light for you in 2021 and how can you apply them in every day life? Slowing down, accepting that God is in control and communicating that message to myself has changed my mindset. It became evident to me when reflecting on the year, that the goal for myself and my family this year is to challenge ourselves to help and serve others. How can I be a better person, friend, citizen. There are so many things out of our control and the selfish approach would be to take control of it all ourselves and do things without realizing its affects on those around us.

In 2020, I feel I’ve personally been tested in so many different facets of my life. Between politics, relationships, parenting, zero normalcy, social media and a wild main stream media challenging our daily lives – I was able to find what triggers me in terms of becoming angry, impatient, judgey and distrought. Discovering these triggers has been a huge eye opener and really allowed me to see what is TRULY important a little more clearly. Actions speak louder than words but when words are needed, how do you use them properly?

We always hear the phrases, “New Year, New Me”, “My Word of the Year”, “What’s Your New Year’s Resolution?” (to name a few) and honestly, I thought about writing all those things down with ease. But then what struck me is how selfish I felt at that moment.

Mind you, making sure you take care of yourself is extremely important. A good to do list, time to reflect and rest, accomplishing things and setting goals are so fulfilling and instrumental in bettering yourself. I’m simply trying to focus on working harder to say yes to things I might not want to do – how can I use talents, faith, charity and myself and family physically to help those in need.

2021 Goals: Serving We Instead of Me

Catchy, corny – either way, something to go by, right? Easy to remember and something I’m sure that will be easily embedded into my mind throughout my day and year. A phrase if I think about it daily, it that might help me refrain from saying a rude comment about someone or something, force me to rethink a purchase or not be so quick to judge a person. That is my goal for this year!

Ways to Serve Others

For 2021, what greater way to challenge selfish tendencies than with trying to do the exact opposite – acting unselfish. I’ll tell you, it’s not ME who made me think of this, but actually faith and open communication with God that sparked this idea or change of heart – especially during these trying times.

Years ago, my husband and I were having a chat about the Corporal Works of Mercy and Spiritual Works of Mercy – we saw a two banners hanging in the gathering area of our new parish. We actually chatted about making sure we try to our best to do several of these works every single year. We felt this was extremely important in “actually” living out our faith. Then, along came another kiddo, chaos and we lost sight of that “goal” to out-do what we were currently doing (donating) on a regular basis.

If you’ve never heard, the Corporal Works of Mercy as quoted directly from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “are charitable actions by which we help our neighbors in their bodily needs” and the Spiritual Works of Mercy “help guides us to help our neighbor in their spiritual needs.” These are acts laid out by God for us to follow and do. To me, these serve as an incredible guide on how we can help one another and those are what I will reference this year. For your reference, I shared the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy below!

I hope this graphic below can give you examples of how to perform these acts throughout the year. Like I said, we are going to try our best to make sure we do some of these things this year. How great the difference it would make if we all tried to challenge ourselves this year!