NEW YEAR, NEW ME?! WHY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS ARE BS!
Jan 12, 2022
Yup! I will be the first to say it… New Year’s Resolutions are absolute BS! The whole idea and construct around having to make the New Year the time for big changes really isn’t something I agree with!
Before I explain, just check in! Did you make a resolution this year? Or last year? How is that going? Honestly?
WHY I AM NOT A FAN...
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a MASSIVE fan of having goals! This is not to be confused with goal setting at all!
My issue with New Year’s Resolutions is that they often come from a place of fear, or resentment towards oneself or our actions. They come desiring change from a place of pain rather than changing with positive motives and incentives.
Take one of the most common ones I see for example, the inner dialogue tends to go a little something like this:
New Years Eve:
“Ewww… I hate my body, look at these rolls, I wish I could look different, why can’t I lose weight. Next year, I am going to change, I am going to join a gym, I am going to stick to my diet for good etc…”
Then what happens? Maybe you join the gym? Maybe you even go consistently for a few weeks, and stick to that ‘diet’, maybe you are giving it your all? But, the changes aren’t as quick as you hoped, or you are exhausted from giving it 100% and you really aren’t enjoying yourself, you burn yourself out, get sick of the diet and then give up in a month’s time because you couldn’t keep up with your initial expectations.
What I see happen, year after year, is that we set ourselves up for failure. Then when we hit said failure (cue voice in head – ‘see I told you, you can’t do this’), we end up putting ourselves down and not making any real progress at all.
With New Year’s Resolutions, they are normally formed as punishment for us not being where we want to be in life and then when we fail, it further confirms that belief.
This is why I don’t like New Year’s Resolutions! Whilst there is always room to grow and improve, the idea of having to become a ‘New You’ is often a massive expectation to live up to.
And… will power and motivation can only last so long! It comes down to creating a long term, sustainable change! One that is HEALTHY and can be done in small strategic steps so that you form habits that actually change your life.
WHAT I RECOMMEND INSTEAD
So often, we go at something all guns blazing and end up worse off than when we started because we involve restrictions or implement an all or nothing approach!
This mentality is something I work so hard on helping my clients break-free of, because in the long run it is not going to serve you!
If you want to lose weight, get fit or be more active, eat healthier or just feel better in your own skin then start with something that you can commit to… it might be signing up at the gym, but instead of going every day at 100%, you do 3 days a week and start off with 20 – 30 minute workouts.
Or if it’s eating healthy, maybe it’s making one swap at a time, it doesn’t have to mean your whole pantry is cleaned out January 1st!
If you want to make long term change you need to understand your WHY, your VISION, and formulate a PLAN on how to get there, and often you need some HELP – either support from a coach or a community to evoke this change to be long-term.
You also need to work on the mindset, what are the common BLOCKS that prevent you from stepping into this best version of yourself? What has stopped you taking action in the past? What level of commitment can you actually commit to now?
When you are coming from this place with making change, it becomes a lot more doable, realistic and way more FUN!!
Any goal that you want, is worth going after! Sometimes it is just the method that needs tweaking! You don’t need to become a new YOU, but you can improve and grow your already amazing self!
But that’s just my two cents! I would love to know your thoughts, share with me in the comments below!
Yours in Health,
Sheree xo
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