Moving Forward With Meaning: Our Traditions, Intentions, and Resolutions for the New Year
The year is almost over, which means we’re hearing a lot about . . . New Year’s resolutions. (Relax and breathe. We’re not here to pressure or guilt you into setting one, so no trigger warning needed.) We love how the focus on goals reminds us to reflect on our journey and make sure we are on a path that will bring improvement, even if it’s a continuous, incremental 1% improvement.
At the same time, we all have our own unique journeys and “New Year’s resolutions” in the traditional sense, while helpful for some, don’t work for everyone. Many people prefer to make goals throughout the year as they find things they want to change or learn. Others prefer to set a direction, intention, or theme to focus on during the coming year. And another group uses the new year celebration to build relationships and create traditions. There is no “right” way to approach the new year. Here are a few intentions, traditions, resolutions, and directions from the Redmond Life team.
Family Traditions
Jodie Goalen, Operations Project Manager
For many years, our family tradition was to celebrate the new year with a HUGE firework display. My brother is a mechanic and friends with the guy who sold fireworks every year. During the year, my brother would perform work on the firework guy’s car and earn fireworks credits. He was able to get an insane amount of fireworks by the end of the year and our family—including adult siblings, kids, in-laws, and in-laws’ families—were the beneficiaries. We descended on my brother’s house for dinner and then enjoyed an incredible firework show so impressive that the entire neighborhood would also brave the cold to enjoy it with us. We took steps to keep it fun and safe, but on one occasion, a firework tipped over and shot into the garage where people were sitting to watch the show. Whether due to fast reflexes or pure luck, it didn’t cause any damage to people or property.
Tami Wade, Accounting
My grandson’s birthday is New Year’s Day, so both sides of his family (my daughter and son-in-law) gather at his home on New Year’s Eve for a big celebration. My son-in-law has a huge family, so there is quite a crowd. We usually have pizza and lots of appetizers (little smokies, 7-layer bean dip, fruit trays, veggie trays), and play Bingo. They bring close to 150 random Bingo prizes—a pair of gloves, a box of candy canes, a 99-cent cheese grater, white elephant gifts, and other dollar store deals mixed with a few $10 gift cards. Everyone (including the kids) has their own Bingo card, and we play until the prizes are gone. It gets a little rowdy at times and is a lot of fun, but it doesn’t last all night. Most of us leave before midnight because we enjoy our sleep or have kids with bedtimes.
Lalo Ramirez, Marketing/Social Media
My family’s New Year’s tradition is to buy a bunch of grapes on New Year’s Eve, get out the wine goblets (one for each family member), and put 12 grapes in each one. Together, we silently think about a goal, wish, or intention we have for each month in the upcoming year and then eat a grape for that month. These are personal goals and intentions, so we don’t necessarily share them with each other. When the year is half over, we get together again to check in, see how everyone did during the previous six months, and recommit or revise our goals or wishes for the next six months. It’s a great way to support each other and also have some gentle accountability.
Resolutions
Luke Baadsgaard, Wholesale Team
I start my resolutions in November so that by the time January comes around, the resolutions have already become habits. This year, my resolutions included becoming more fit and sticking to a better sleep schedule. I ran 100 miles in November and I’ve worked out five times a week every week in December. I’ve been going to bed at 9:30 pm and getting up at 5:30 am. So far, I’m on track to have a set of new year habits by the time 2023 officially begins.
Adrienne Whitworth, Social Media Manager
I love New Year’s resolutions! One of mine for 2023 is to do an Olympic triathlon, which consists of a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride, and a 10-kilometer run.
Natalie Baugh, Events/Marketing Support
I love running and some of my goals or intentions this year include cutting my marathon time to less than four hours and running one or two ultra marathons. I plan to start by running 31 miles and work up to 50 miles.
A goal without a plan will fail, especially in this case where I’ve taken a break from running since my last marathon a few months ago, and it’s hard to train when it’s cold and dark. Training for these longer distances takes a lot of work, dedication, and sacrifice, which I can do once I figure out my motivation and purpose. My first step is to find and sign up for a race. I then put my daily miles and workout in my planner, so I have something to follow and check off each day.
I’ve learned through experience that I tend to only accomplish a handful of the many goals I set. So I’ve shifted to think of goals more as intentions and visions. Remembering past goals and intentions pushes me to do the next thing, redetermine and redefine my motives, and find my “why.” What life do I want to create? How am I living that life? I write my intentions, set a plan and timeline for getting there, and read them every day so I think about them as I go throughout my day.
Intentions
Darryl Bosshardt, Business Development
At Redmond, we primarily focus on the direction we are headed as opposed to setting specific goals or targets, and consistent with that approach, my focus for the coming year is to try and be a little more intentional in my daily life. Rather than doing things automatically, I’m going to work on being more present and intentional about everything—what I buy, eat, or say and where I spend my time.
Scott Murdock, Human Resources/Culture team
Building on what Darryl said, I also like to focus on improvement and the direction I’m heading rather than a specific goal I may reach or abandon before the end of the year. I find that I make more progress when I reflect on the past year and connect the dots related to where I’ve been and what I’ve learned. When I can clearly see where I’ve been, it is easier to see what course corrections and changes I need to make to get to where I want to go.
Launa Harward, Customer Experience
My favorite way to kick off a new year is to pick a focus word for the year. Instead of setting specific resolutions or outlined goals, I choose a word that I want to truly gain an understanding of. This word represents a quality I want to look for more of in my life, share with others, and strive to become an example of.
The best part about this intention is that it sets a tone and invitation for my whole year. It opens the door to opportunity and leaves room for my journey to change along the way and offer the best growth. The universe responds over and over with experiences and people sent my way to strengthen my understanding and encourage my discovery. It never fails. Almost to the point that some years, I am not sure if I chose the word or if the word chose me.
My word for the coming 2023 year is “grace.” It has been on my mind lately and it’s popping up all around me in conversations and situations. I love this Ram Dass quote a friend shared with me the other day: "Think of a framed picture of a cloud. If the picture is cropped too closely, you only see the gray of the cloud. If the picture is cropped to a wider angle, you see the blue sky all around it. That's grace." This quote really drove it home for me. What a beautiful picture of grace. I am so excited to dig into this year and this intention of grace. I can't wait to see what the journey has in store for me; the experiences and understandings I will gain along the way; and the opportunities to have, give, receive, feel, know, value, and truly love grace!
If you don't have a New Year’s tradition (or if you do but you feel like you might be ready for a change, or if you just want to add some intention to your journey), I highly recommend picking a focus word and diving in. The reflection of its presence and your growth because of it will shock you!
