New Year, New Me?

It’s the season to be jolly, merry and indulgent. We convince ourselves that we can ‘splurge’ on whatever we want as come January 1st, it’s the ‘new me’. There’s the build up of who is making what resolution and how long it will last. The usual ones surface; the get fit, the detox and the most important, the new me. The definition of which is a bit fluid. I’m not even sure that when we make that resolution that we fully understand what we mean and yet everyone responds with ‘Good on you, sure I’m the same.’

The new year’s resolution is similar to the ‘diet starts tomorrow’. Tomorrow never comes. There is always a reason to not undertake something new. Monday has been cursed as the day where diets and resolutions go to die. Life is tough and scarily short. There are always things to bring us down so why add to them? Give yourself a realistic expectation of what is achievable for you. It’s easy to get sucked into the frenzy of the masses but take a step back and think for yourself. It’s only you who will be disappointed if you don’t reach a goal. Nobody else will be thinking about your success or failure and no one else can contribute to it. You set your goals. You know your abilities and can gauge what will and will not work for you.

Break your goals up into small, manageable chunks

If you are someone who can say, for example, that you will lose ‘x’ amount of weight and you know you will obtain that goal then I take my hat off to you. If you are not that someone then I will say choose smaller time frames for goals. This make it easier to complete. Instead of, this year I will run a 20k marathon, start off small with walking a kilometre or two once or twice a week. Start with smaller tasks and they will add up to the larger task in the end. Resolutions can become a social pressure that weighs down on us and it can be dangerous to those who find this festive season difficult. Remember to be patient with people, always, but especially this time of year. We are all so unaware of what each other’s battles are and you don’t know how far a smile or ‘thank you’ will go.

Both a time of joy and sadness

New Year’s Eve can be a joyous time for people. Celebrating and rejoicing in holiday cheer. It’s the perfect time to get together with friends and drink and eat a bit too much. For others it’s just another day. There’s a morning, an afternoon and a night. Their day could have no difference from the one before or to the one ahead. Finally, more common than we’d like to admit, it’s a time of sadness. A reminder of what could have been, a memory of what didn’t happen or the lingering feeling of someone lost who you would have shared this day with.

The main thing I’d like to emphasise would to be kind and patient to everyone you meet but also to yourself. Give yourself a break. This season is tough for everyone, so take a breath. It’s inevitable that you will get swept up in the process of everyone’s festive frenzy at some point.

Whether this new year’s eve is a big deal, another day or a less than lovely reminder, remember that every day is a new chance to do with whatever you choose. Be safe, smile and prepare yourself for the ‘New Year, New Me.’