New Year, New You?
Does This Sound Like You Every New Year?
2021 has arrived (yippee) - and the world is ready to welcome it with open arms. As 2020 drew to a close, we have a tendency to start planning for the year ahead. But the best way to create change is to set a clear intention.
With a new year comes a new opportunity to pause and think about the year that has been. But New Year's Day isn’t all about leaving the past behind—it’s also about facing new challenges with a fresh perspective. 2020 certainly put the spot light (and the squeeze) on all aspects of our health - physical, mental, and emotional. Now more than ever, if you’re making “new year and new me” resolutions (to improve your health) here’s how to do it the right way.
In theory, New Year’s resolutions should make your life less stressful, or at least give you a means to address things about your life you’d like to change. In reality, however, a lofty New Year’s resolution can often loom over you, forming a nagging reminder of your supposed failure to reinvent yourself just because another 365 days have passed.
This year New Year’s, I say forget all that. Twenty-twenty was colored by economic collapse, political fractiousness, civil unrest, and a pandemic. Why start 2021 by voluntarily subjecting yourself to stress? I think we’ve all had our fair share of stress this past year, right? Right.
The only kinds of resolutions you should make for 2021 are stress-free ones. For example: maybe your 2021 resolution is to live your best life and only buy pants with no buttons or zippers. Or maybe another 2021 resolution is to put on a full outfit for Zoom calls (although let’s be real, business-on-top-PJs-below never hurt anyone). Also consider flossing every day — and not just with wild abandon in the week leading up to a cleaning. See that wasn’t so bad, all stress free and easy.
However, if you’re wanting to make more ambitious New Year’s resolutions to stick to (loosing weight, exercising regularly, eat healthier etc.) then here’s how to do it without getting overwhelmed by stress.
Make sure your goals are actually achievable
We’d all like to emerge like a phoenix from the ashes of 2020 with a bunch of new skills and hobbies, but life doesn’t work like that. If you’re trying to achieve something new, make sure your goal is actually manageable. Are you going to go from not running at all to running a 5K every day, or even every couple days? No, you’re not. So why leave yourself with a mountain to climb?
Track your progress
No change comes overnight, so tracking how you chip away at a goal will help you put things in perspective. Putting something into writing will help you internalize and respect the process. Patience is key!
Take it step by step
You’re not going to completely overhaul your imperfections in one-fell swoop. That’s why it’s probably a wise choice to tackle one issue at a time.
Reward yourself
New Year’s resolutions get abandoned so quickly because they’re usually hard to carry out. That’s why you should pause and take stock of some of the bigger leaps you take towards achieving your goal. For example, if you’re trying to eat healthier and are seeing progress in the right direction, don’t celebrate with a cake. Consider instead buying yourself a pair of new smaller pants instead. Definitely do something to acknowledge the progress you’ve made but don’t sabotage your gains.
Understand that setbacks happen
Nobody makes a longterm commitment to changing their behavior without hiccups and bumps in the road. You have to keep in mind that whatever you’re trying to change will likely experience some difficulties. If anything derails you, stay the course. Everyday is a new day and opportunity to continue to make forward progress.
Our New Years Wish To You
2021 is certainly going to usher in so much excitement and growth for our practice as we prepare to open. With a rollercoaster of a year behind us and an eagerness to feel the “reset” that Jan. 1, 2021 seems to entice us with, please don’t forget that everyday is a gift. This isn’t to say that everyday is going to be easy, fun, or always enjoyable for that matter - but it is a gift.
I wish you all a HEALTHY and happy start to 2021. Cheers!