New Year, S l o w Start.
Don't worry, you still have three months...
S l o w Start
Is it just us, or does this new year feel a little different - slower, softer, quieter - than usual? Heck, this love letter is hitting your inbox at 4pm on a Friday. If that’s not slower, than we don’t know what it is?
Perhaps it’s our collective need for recovery after the metaphorical (and kinda, literal) dumpster fire that was 2024. Or perhaps Pluto moving into Aquarius really is doing its thing.
In any case, as the women obsessed with rewriting the narrative on modern ______hood, it’s a welcome shift in pace and energy.
This feels important to say amidst the Los Angeles wildfires - the slower start we're referencing is in relation to the 'productive start' the new year often mandates. We recognize that 2025 carries its own weight, thus making the slower start all the more important.
Naturally Occurring Cycles 🌎
Each year, we find ourselves leaning deeper and deeper into the naturally occurring cycles that run our lives - seasonal, lunar, astrological, menstrual. It’s not that in acknowledging them, they now start to exist. In acknowledging them, it’s that we start to exist - like, really exist.
What we mean is that, for years we prided ourselves on a false sense of strength that came with denying the effect of these cycles on our energy, perspectives, and progress. With every denial, we proved to the world just how tough we were!
January is here? Let’s set goals and crush ‘em!
Period has arrived? Not gonna get me down!
Menopause a thing? Don’t let ‘em see you sweat!
And, with every denial, we chipped away at a trust within ourselves; a belief that another way was possible, and we’d still be worthy if we chose to try her out for a while.
It’s not actually the new year.
And, so, this year, at IT ALL Media there is no resolution, mantra, or “word of the year.” Instead, we are taking a cue from the stars, and declaring the start of the astrological new year - Aries season in March - our very own new year. January 1st was merely the ushering in of our own personal fourth quarter; a time to rest and to reflect.
And, damn, does it feel good to be in flow with the naturally occurring slowness of the winter, the post-holiday recovery, the blank slate of a new beginning. We invite you to join us - push yourself out of your comfort zone - to see if you, too, might be craving your own slow start when the rest of the world is rushing towards a premature destination.
What does this tangibly look like?
YES! We’re so glad you’re in. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to slow start 2025.
Reflect - What’s going really good?
Declutter - Rid your space, mind, and soul of what no longer serves you.
Plan for the plan - Practice energy management when doing something new.
Lean into cycles - Ride the natural occurring cycles of life with quarterly intentions.
1. Reflect.
Reflection has become our most beloved form of celebration. A look back at where we’ve been, leading with gratitude and good vibes for the things we’re most proud of.
Why is it so easy to start with what’s not going well? It’s as if our resolutions have become a response to the self-criticizing question, “What do I need to fix about myself?”
What might the response be, instead, to: “What do I really love about myself?” or When do I feel most in my power?”
2. Declutter.
It’s really hard to create anew, when you’re still tending to the old. Just like we do with our space each winter - purging the excess and donating what no longer serves us - do the same with your self.
This means your work, your home, your relationships, your thought patterns, your community, your media. Take inventory, paying attention to what makes you feel good, and what makes you feel total shit.
If it’s the latter - no matter how many ‘shoulds’ you tell yourself - pack it away in 2024, and add to the ‘release’ pile.
3. Plan for the plan.
We always tell our clients,“Plan for the plan.” Meaning, don’t rush to action; account for the energy it takes to plan well. And this year, we took a page from our own FIA playbook.
You reflected on what feels good, got rid of what doesn’t, and maybe now start to see the outline of a plan. Instinct and cultural conditioning might say - OK, start doing it RIGHT NOW!
And then - cut to a day, a week, a month later - you feel like a failure because that plan didn’t quite work out. Almost 100% of the time, an unsustained plan can be mapped back to premature execution; not accounting for the energy expenditure it takes to create sustained, healthy growth.
Remember, we are humans - silly animals, as one of our clients once said. Change - even the good kind - takes time and energy. Allow yourself both to do it in a way that feels good. Because when it feels good, you’re more likely to stick with it.
Cue the annoyingly accurate ‘life is about the journey’ cliches.
4. Lean into cycles.
It’s all the fan-fare to create a vision for the whole year ahead; and hell, if that feels good, do you babe! But - for us - we’re different versions of ourselves month-to-month, season-to-season.
As quickly as life changes, so do we. To lean further into these cycles, we opted for quarterly intentions, aligning with the seasons - both the literal ones, and the ones of our personal lives.
Here are some of our actual slow start intentions for this quarter, heading into our ‘new year’ still a few months away:
Make my home a sacred space. Create intentional spaces that work for our lives, and enjoy the process of making it ours. (We just renovated a home, and have 2 small children)
Pour into our coaching clients, letting them feel the magic of working with us. Bring this energy to everything we do, so that the right people continue to find and stay with us.
Create time and space to develop a portfolio operating system for this phase of life - work, self, and family. We personally are loving this Portfolio OS by
; and are spending our time LEARNING about it, not implementing it - yet.
So happy (un)new year. We hope that you’ll join us on our quest to make Aries the actual new year, and allow our tired, cozy, hibernating hearts to do what they are meant to be doing right now - reflect, declutter, and plan in the cycle we’re in.
Sending big love from our keyboard to your inbox; especially to all our friends living through the literal hell taking place in LA right now. We are here, with our words, our networks, and any connections we can offer while you and yours stay safe.
Just drop us a line, and we’ll be sure to respond back. For everyone else, check in on those who need it; especially yourself.
Big love, K+K