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New Years

Jaclyn Baker

It all feels rushed looking forward to all the plans to make the goals I’m told to set. So instead I decide to take a breath and stop to acknowledge what I’m leaving behind.

One of my favorite ways to start the morning is by sitting outside on my balcony with my dog, Miso. When I can manage it (because I am definitely a night owl), I like to wake up a bit earlier and revel in the peace that comes with the morning time. 

I like to sit and listen to the wind, the birds, the airplanes flying by, and really anything that helps me take in the moment. I find this is a great time for reflection, whether it’s about the day ahead, the previous day, or any thoughts coming up for me that morning. 

A few mornings ago while I was sitting outside with Miso, I witnessed a fellow dog owner walking their dog and incorporating some training. If you’re familiar with reactive dogs, you might know that early mornings are a good time to practice training outside to help your dog get used to outdoor environments while others are not around.

I felt very lucky in this moment to witness the love and care that this person was showing to their dog, and it reminded me of the times that it was me in that position. When I adopted Miso, he struggled with fear-based reactivity, which showed up in his fear of noises and other people. Watching this person in the early stages of training reminded me of all the stops and starts that Miso and I had and how far we’ve come. 

I started thinking about how he used to not trust other people and how now he says hello to strangers and expects to be petted. We have done so much work and training together and while Miso still has his moments, he has grown in many ways. In the early stages of training, I would look forward to the time when he would be able to meet another person without growling or being scared. I don’t think I can appreciate that we are indeed at that point (yay!), without also acknowledging all that we’ve worked on this year. 

Sometimes we cannot fully see forward until we take a moment to stop and look backward. With the start of the new year, it can feel overwhelming and daunting to think about change, goals, and intentions to set, especially when we hear the phrases “new year, new me” and “what are your new year’s resolutions?” 

But it might be worth thinking about the fact that maybe the start of looking forward begins with looking backwards. If you were to slow down and look back at this past year, what would come up for you? In what ways have you changed, grown, and been shaped? 

What would you like to leave in the past year? Are there things that you’ve learned that you want to take with you? 

If you are feeling overwhelmed with the new year, I encourage you to be gentle with yourself and to take a moment to stop and look back because that might be the clearest way for you to see forward.

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6 Powerful New Year’s Resolutions to Unlock Hidden Opportunities in 2025

Jaclyn Baker

Tired of setting New Year’s resolutions that don’t stick? In 2025, try a different approach—one that focuses on preparing for opportunities you don’t yet know exist. Inspired by Happenstance Theory, these resolutions aren’t about rigid goals, but about opening yourself up to growth and unexpected success. Here are six resolutions that will help you embrace the unknown and make the most of life’s hidden opportunities.

Embrace Uncertainty

Instead of fearing the unknown, lean into it. The most exciting opportunities often arise when you step outside your comfort zone. Resolve to be more open to new experiences and embrace uncertainty as an avenue for growth.

Stay Curious

Curiosity drives discovery. Make it a goal to ask more questions, explore new ideas, and push yourself to learn. This mindset will open doors to opportunities you might have missed otherwise.

Beat Self-Doubt

Overcome negative thoughts by believing in your potential. Confidence builds with action—so even if you’re unsure, push forward. You’ll find opportunities you never thought possible.

Build Real Connections

It’s not about how many followers you have; it’s about the quality of your relationships. Focus on building meaningful, supportive connections that can offer new opportunities and guidance.

Stay Flexible

Adaptability is key to thriving in a constantly changing world. Stay protean—like the Greek god Proteus—and be ready to adjust your approach when new opportunities come knocking.

Be Tenacious

Failure is part of the journey. Make it your resolution to keep going even when things don’t go as planned. Resilience is what leads to long-term success.

Ready for 2025?

This New Year, ditch traditional resolutions and resolve to be open to whatever comes your way. By preparing for unexpected opportunities, you’ll create your own luck and set yourself up for success in 2025 and beyond.

 

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Realistic New Year’s Resolutions

Jaclyn Baker
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With the start of the New Year, it’s easy to get caught up in the expectation to create a New Year’s resolution. Whether it’s to improve your health, or adding in a new habit to your routine, the new year can be a good time to reflect and look ahead to determine what you’d like to change.

Oftentimes these resolutions have large and even unrealistic expectations, making them difficult to maintain throughout the year. It’s easy to have an “all-or-nothing” mindset, seeing a pause in progress or inability to complete your goal for a day, as a failure. This can lead to dropping the new habit, and sometimes feeling too discouraged to try again. To avoid this cycle, we need to start by creating realistic goals that can be measured. 

Creating a goal based on outcome can easily leave us disappointed and frustrated with ourselves. Instead, try committing to a behavior change that you can complete once a day, such as “go outside for 10 minutes every day”, or “eat one nutritious meal a day”. Making a daily commitment can create a sense of accomplishment while also keeping our goals realistic. Eventually, you may notice a change resulting from all these small steps. Another thing to practice is logging each day whether or not you’ve completed the goal, to find patterns in why you may have off-days or pauses in your progress.

Another way to create realistic goals is to make them S.M.A.R.T., which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. 

  • Let’s start with “specific”. Creating a general goal can make it easier to drop the habit. The goal “go for a walk once a day” is easier to follow than “live a healthier lifestyle”. 
  • Having a goal that is easy to track makes it measurable. Setting a number or some sort of deadline can help you know when you’ve achieved it. For example, “drink eight glasses of water a day” makes it easy to track whether or not you’ve reached your goal. 
  • Achievable is checking to see if your goal is achievable, ensuring your goals aren’t too difficult. If your goal is too hard, this can lead to dropping the habit and feeling discouraged. If you want to learn a new language, and have no experience with it, it would be out of your scope to set a goal to become fluent within the next 30 days.
  • Realistic goals ensure your target is feasible with the current lifestyle you have. If you’re constantly feeling overworked or overwhelmed practicing the goal, it might be a cue to scale down to a more manageable behavior. 
  • Finally, we have timely. Making a resolution that has no timeline can make it unclear whether or not you can accomplish it. So, like stated earlier, you can set a goal to practice one behavior a day. Eventually, you may see progress from all of these behaviors adding up!

Ultimately, it’s important to be kind to ourselves whenever working towards a goal. Progress will never be linear – so don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself not meeting these behaviors each day. And, if maintaining what you’re managing right now is all you can do, that is enough. Be kind to yourself, and happy New Year!

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4 Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Home and Make it Special

Jaclyn Baker
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So many of us look forward to New Year’s Eve for months, if not longer. 

January 1st is the start of a brand new chapter and can give us the inspiration and motivation to step outside our comfort zone.

Let’s also not forget about all the celebrations and the ever so famous countdown.

Even though we can’t host or attend parties this year, we can celebrate in a safe and fun way!

Host a Virtual Event

None of us are strangers to virtual events. Since March, millions of milestones have been celebrated via video chat. Weddings, birthdays, graduations, you name it!

New Year’s can be celebrated virtually as well.

You can easily celebrate with all your family and friends from the comfort of home. Even though you will be at home, you can still dress up and decorate. 

Host a Virtual Game Night

If you have kids, a virtual game night could be a lot of fun!

There are several websites and apps out there that allow you to play games virtually with a group of people. 

If you want to go the extra mile, you can even make up your own games and put a New Year’s spin on them.

The Countdown

Whether you are spending New Year’s home alone or with immediate family, you can still countdown and make it fun!

You can even record your virtual hangouts and take screenshots for memories! Just be sure to ask everyone on the call if they are okay with that.

Reflection

Self-reflection doesn’t have to be a chore. There are tons of ways you can make it fun! 

At the end of the evening, everyone can share what they’ve learned in 2020 and what they are grateful for.

The Vista family is very grateful for each and every one of you. We can’t wait to make new memories with you all in 2021.

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