Top 3 Things You Need To Leave In 2021

Each new day, week, month, and year are like fresh starts. A way for you to either build on what you have done before or start anew. As you look forward to the new year, are there things that you need to let go of to truly have a fresh and better start? Things you need to leave in 2021? Whether they are actual things, people, or even mindsets.

Going into the next year holding onto things you should have let go of can have a negative effect on you and the things you are working towards in the coming year. I know because I have done this more times than I care to admit.

Whether it was holding on to a lot of clutter in my home that was no longer of any value to me or just taking up space. Preventing me from enjoying the things I love and even acquiring new things because I have no space for them.

Or whether it was allowing the negative words of others to become my own thoughts. Then these thoughts became things I allowed to limit the goals and plans I set. Resulting in me creating excuses for myself as to why I did not or could not achieve each of those goals anyway.

Or whether it was before I met my husband and I was still dating a guy that all of my friends and I knew I should not be. By allowing that relationship to drag on into the new year, it also dragged me downs in many ways as well. And the list can go on and on.

Well, this year we are going to do things a little differently. So before you start setting goals for 2022, take a look back on 2021 and decide what you are not going to bring with you into 2022.

Whether they are things, people, or mindsets. Because in order for you to have your best year yet in life, marriage, motherhood, or beyond, you have to let go of things that may be holding you back or weighing you down.

I could not ask you to do something I am not willing to do myself. So I want to share with you the top three things I am leaving in 2021 that you may want to as well.

Leave Behind In 2021 Overscheduling

2020 was a year that I do not think anyone saw coming. It started with so much promise, excitement, and so many of us entering with a clear 20/20 vision about how we wanted to walk into the next decade. Then Covid-19 hit the world and life as we knew it was forever changed.

Then as we went into 2021, we were still in the midst of the pandemic. However, we started to see some light at the end of a long and dark tunnel. Then with this light came the opportunity to do the things we did before our world changed.

Slowly all the things that we may have learned during quarantine and our new slower pace of life were thrown out of the window. I know for me, because I had the time and the space on my calendar and in my routine, I started to say ‘YES’ to everything.

This led to my husband, our daughters, and myself quickly becoming overscheduled and overwhelmed. We went from being home and having limited contact with a lot of people, which we all really appreciated and enjoyed being able to really connect as a family and living life at a slower pace. To subsequently have every moment of the day accounted for and with no room for a time of rest and connection like we had.

The overwhelm and overscheduling started to take a real toll on me physically, mentally, and spiritually. Physically, I was becoming exhausted and stressed. Mentally, I was becoming short-tempered and disconnected from others. And spiritually, I was seeing my time with God as something I just needed to check off my list and not the refreshing time I really needed.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
Matthew 11:28 (AMPC)

So I decided before I enter 2022, I am going to leave overscheduling in 2021. Being more intentional about not just my schedule, but my husband’s and our daughters will allow us to have the connections we want, the rest we need, and the space necessary to have our best year yet.

Leave Behind Comparison

Comparison is something that we all do whether we are aware of it or not. As women, we often can compare ourselves, our possessions, or even our accomplishments. As wives, we can often compare our roles, our husbands, or even our marriages. Then even as moms, we can often compare our parenting styles or our kids to each other or others.

Now, this comparison thing has been a big struggle for me in 2021 in so many ways. Going into 2021 and throughout, there have been a lot of changes going on in my life and in my family. God had been opening some doors and closing others for me and my husband in business and friendships. All of these changes were not lining up with my plans.

But we know that God’s plans and ways are higher than ours. So when things stopped going according to my plans, instead of seeking God first as I should have. I started to look around. Looking at all the things that seemed to be going so well in the lives, marriages, and businesses of those around me.

We all know that when we start comparing ourselves to others we often are the ones that seem to come up short. Then this can lead to discontentment, jealousy, and lack of joy. For me, this also led to me overscheduling more. I needed to do more, so I would not feel like I was continuing to fall short.

Yet, God soon reminded me that I was feeling like I was falling short because I was using other people to measure myself up to instead of seeking Him as my guiding point.

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
Galatians 6:4-5 (MSG)

So I decided before I enter 2022, I am going to leave the need to compare in 2021.

Thereby giving myself permission to embrace the unique and different paths and pace that God has for me. While knowing I may not always be moving at the pace I want or in the exact direction I hoped. Yet, trusting that God’s pace and direction for me, my marriage, my family, and my business are better.

Because with God at the center and our focus, there is contentment, joy, and peace.

Leave Behind In 2021 Living Like Tomorrow Is Promised

This is actually something I did not even know I was doing until I sat down a took a real look at the past year or so. 2020 put such a pause on our lives in so many ways that it was easy to start looking towards ‘Well, when things get back to normal…’ Over time I realized that I had started to adopt the ‘when things…’ mindset and it was limiting me.

I was becoming less intentional about the things of today because I was so focused on tomorrow and expecting it to be better.

Yet, if God has blessed us with today then we need to embrace it and be intentional about what we do in and with it.

Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.
Proverbs 27:1 (MSG)

So I decided before I enter 2022, I am going to be more intentional about today.

We need to be intentional about spending quiet time with God, about practicing better self-care, about loving your husband well, and about connecting with your kids. All things that if you do and are blessed with another will help to make that year the best year yet.

In order for you to receive all that God has for you, there are some things that you have to let go of. So before you start to make plans and set goals for 2022, make sure to take some time to look back and decide what you need to leave behind in 2021. And to also help you set your goals for 2022, I have the perfect goal planning sheet for you here.

I’d love to know what is one thing you are leaving behind in 2021, so let me in the comments below!