Your Soul Aligned New Year - 5 Questions to Start Your Year Off Feeling Aligned & Hopeful

Most people begin the new year by trying to fix themselves.

New goals. New habits. New versions of who they think they should be.

But soul‑aligned living doesn’t begin with reinvention. It begins with remembering.

Remembering what your body already knows. Remembering what your nervous system has been asking for. Remembering who you are when you’re not performing, pushing, or proving.

This is an invitation to start the year differently. Not from pressure. Not from hustle. But from truth.

Tuning into my body and asking the question about all of my actions, how does this feel? Is this expansive/supportive or does this sap my energy?

This does not come naturally for me. I was raised by the generation that believes we always need to be doing something "Productive" All the time, every day. It's exhausting.

This work has to be really intentional, and I believe this can be the most supportive and beneficial work we can be doing for ourselves, and we should be doing this on a daily basis until it starts to become the norm, you just tune in and do this automatically. This is something that is important for my health and happiness this year.

Today I want to share a few questions to help you tune in, let's get into it!

A Soul‑Aligned Starting Point

This work is rooted in what I call Soul‑Aligned Self‑Care.

It’s for the woman who has been told she’s too much and not enough in the same breath. For the woman who has given her energy, time, love, and labor to everyone else, and now feels disconnected from herself. For the woman who is done with burnout disguised as ambition.

I believe in a different kind of strength. Not the strength that pushes through pain, but the strength that pauses and listens. Not the strength that overrides the body, but the strength that honors it.

I want us to reject one‑size‑fits‑all healing. Reject superficial self‑care and quick fixes. I believe a calm nervous system is the foundation for clarity, creativity, courage, and sustainable change.

This year doesn’t need you optimized. It needs you regulated, resourced, and real.

And that starts with a few honest questions.

Question One: What already feels heavy, and what feels quietly nourishing?

Your intuition speaks first through sensation, not logic. If something feels draining, constricting, or exhausting, that’s not weakness, it’s information.

Ask yourself:

• What am I tolerating that costs me energy?
• What brings even a small sense of relief, steadiness, or ease?

Baby step: Choose one thing that feels heavy and soften it. Not eliminate. Not overhaul. Just soften.

And choose one thing that feels nourishing and give it a little more space this week.

Alignment begins when you stop arguing with what your body already knows.

Whenever I ignore my body and force myself to push through, I always pay for it later with my health. I might not sleep well. If I get stressed, I'll get a headache. When I overwork and I'm tired, I'm also foggy and cranky. It's just not worth it!

Question Two: When do I feel most like myself?

Purpose isn’t something you chase. It’s something you recognize.

You feel it in moments when you’re not trying to be impressive. When you’re relaxed. Present. Honest.

Ask yourself:

• When do I feel natural and unforced?
• What qualities are alive in me in those moments?

Baby step: Write down three words that describe you when you feel most like yourself. Not who you want to be, who you already are.

These words aren’t goals. They’re clues.

I've noticed that when I'm doing something that is completely aligned, I go into the zone. The zone is when you don't notice time passing, you're not thinking, you're just flowing. When I'm running, gardening, and when I'm painting or in any type of creation mode. I love to create, this is my jam for sure!

Pay attention to when you feel like you're in the zone, in a state of flow. Take note. Eventually you'll notice a pattern of the things that are most aligned.

Question Three: What does my body need more of this year, and less of?

Your nervous system sets the ceiling for everything. Creativity. Consistency. Joy. Capacity.

When you’re dysregulated, even good goals feel heavy. When you’re regulated, small actions feel possible.

Ask yourself:

• Where am I rushing or overriding myself?
• When do I feel safe, settled, or grounded?

Baby step: Choose one daily regulation anchor that takes less than five minutes. A slow exhale. Feet on the floor before your phone. A pause between tasks, Dancing to your favorite song.

Small regulation beats big intentions every time.

When I do the pause between tasks, this is so powerful. You can take a few deep breaths, take a walk, have a snack, just check in, see how you feel and then give yourself what you need. Sometimes I'll even take a quick nap. Listening and honoring your needs will build this powerful trusting relationship with yourself. It's like, you know you have your own back, and you automatically feel supported!

Question Four: If I trusted myself, what would change?

Misalignment often comes from outsourcing our knowing. To expectations. To trends. To other people’s timelines.

Ask yourself:

• Where am I seeking permission instead of listening inward?
• What decision feels obvious but slightly inconvenient?

Baby step: Make one small decision this week without asking for outside validation. Let it be imperfect. Let it be yours.

Self‑trust isn’t built through affirmations. It’s built through practice.

Once I learned to let go of societal expectations, this is when I really felt free. I understand why its hard to not care what others think. We have a very real need to belong.

All I have to do is just remind myself of the people who matter to me. the ones who I actually do care what they think. My kids, my dog. lol. Once I do this, I let go of caring what anyone else thinks. It's freeing, powerful, and aligned

Question Five: How do I want to feel living my life this year?

This is where your word, or better yet, your phrase, emerges. Not from pressure. From resonance.

Ask yourself:

• How do I want my days to feel?
• What emotional tone do I want to return to again and again?

Baby step (integration): Create a 2–4 word phrase that captures how you want to experience life this year.

Examples:

• Soft strength and clarity
• Grounded joy, no rush, I like this one!
• Spacious, steady, and true
• Devotion to what’s real

This phrase isn’t a rule. It’s a filter.

If something supports how you want to feel, lean in. If it doesn’t, pause. It's all about the check in.

This will change over the course of the year as you change. Be sure to continue to check in with yourself and see if you need to redirect your focus.

This happens to me all the time and I feel like when this happens, I'm doing thing right. As I implement these new ways of being, I begin to change. As I change, I have new needs. Thus, the need to change my focus.

Sometimes, I need a whole year or more to integrate. Finding more joy was last years focus for me I still need to continue this. It does not come naturally for me.

So, For This New Year Choose a Different Way Forward

We are done with perfection. We are done with endless striving.

We are choosing calm over chaos. Authenticity over approval. Grace over guilt.

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about coming home to yourself.

This year, may you listen sooner. Soften faster. Trust yourself deeper.

And may your life begin to feel, finally, unmistakably, like yours.

Xo T

P.S If you’d like support choosing your word, regulating your nervous system, or starting the year in a grounded way, you’re warmly invited to explore the practices and offerings I share here. Visit the website, https://www.tinastinson.com or visit the Soul Aligned Life Community here: Soul Aligned Life | Stop Stress, Find Calm & Thrive–Exclusive Meditations/Practices | Patreon