A Chic Paris Holiday Season – Day 30 – Thoughts for the New Year

 January 1, 2021

Happy New Year & Bonne Année!

Today was a lovely day here in Paris – very cold but bright and sunny. I took my usual morning coffee-gratitude walk past the Eiffel Tower (as you can see from the photo.) Even as early as I go out, there were a few people already walking around on the broad plaza. There were, as always, several van-loads of armed police in riot gear stationed around the plaza. I nodded and thanked them for their service as well as wishing them a happy new year (Bonne Année). (It was below freezing this morning and these guys were standing out on the broad, windy, concrete plaza as the sun was rising!)

As I walked, I reflected back on this holiday season. Using Fiona’s guidance from her book, A Chic & Simple Christmas, really helped me focus on the activities and traditions that make the holiday feel fun and happy to me. Even though I sometimes felt like a bit of a type-A kill-joy and that I was over-analyzing the whole thing, I’m glad that I followed Fiona’s advice. It really helped me see exactly what I enjoyed and what I did not enjoy. Happily, it was pretty easy to make sure I did a lot more of the former and minimize the latter.

Looking ahead into the bright and shiny 2021, I have a few things that I would like to focus on / learn how to do better.

1.  I would like to learn how to let go of some of my habit of worrying. I feel like my habit of worrying goes past a practical activity of considering probable outcomes and building one or two backup plans to acting as a thief of joy in the moment.

My action plan: when I catch myself going down the rabbit-hole of (ridiculous) worrying, tell myself, “I have handled difficult situations in the past well and I can handle difficult situations here in the present equally well.” Then, go for a power walk, if possible, and choose a better thought!

2.  I would like to learn how to better pay attention to my intuition.

My action plan: Use each mealtime in the day as a queue for me to ask myself , “What do I feel/perceive in this moment?”  (The purpose is only to check in with my “gut” reaction at that moment.)

This will be my last blog post as part of this Christmas in Paris 2020 series.  I have some new endeavors awaiting my attention for the next several months so I won’t be writing on a daily basis for a while. Thank you so much for joining me for this holiday season.

Let’s raise a glass to toast in 2021 and all of the chic adventures and happy times that await us!